Columbus, OH – Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, issued the following statement after Buckeye filed its notice of appeal with Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals in Schaad v. Alder—a case challenging the city of Cincinnati’s application of local income tax to nonresidents who did not work in the city for extended periods of time during the pandemic.

“For more than 70 years, the Ohio Supreme Court has recognized that the Constitution prohibits local governments from taxing the income of individuals who neither live nor perform work in the taxing city. And, yes, the Constitution applies even during a pandemic. The Buckeye Institute looks forward to presenting Mr. Schaad’s case to Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals and asking for it to correctly declare Ohio’s emergency-based local tax system unconstitutional.”

The shift to telework started long before the pandemic. The Buckeye Institute has offered many sound public policy solutions to help Ohio transition to a better local income tax structure, which will save taxpayer dollars, strengthen economic growth, and lead to more vibrant cities.

The Buckeye Institute has filed four other cases similarly challenging Ohio House Bill 197’s unconstitutional overreach.

• Buckeye v. Kilgore was filed in Franklin County in July 2020 and appealed to Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals in May 2021.
• Denison v. Kilgore was filed in Franklin County in February 2021 and settled in favor of Buckeye’s client Mr. Denison in April 2021.
• Curcio v. Hufford was filed in Lucas County in March 2021.
• Morsy v. Dumas was filed in Cuyahoga County in April 2021.

The Buckeye Institute also filed an amicus brief in New Hampshire v. Massachusetts with the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Granite Staters from unconstitutional taxation by Massachusetts.

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