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 Tenth District Court of Appeals in Buckeye v. Kilgore—a case challenging the City of Columbus’s application of local income tax to nonresidents who did not work in Columbus for extended periods of time during the pandemic.

“The Ohio Supreme Court has been perfectly clear in binding decisions stating that cities lack the authority to tax residents who neither work nor live there. Further, the Ohio Supreme Court has also recognized that while the Ohio Constitution allows the legislature to limit cities’ taxing power, it does not allow the legislature to expand that power as the General Assembly did in House Bill 197. The Buckeye Institute looks forward to presenting this case to the Tenth District Court of Appeals.”

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 similar cases. Denison v. Kilgore was filed in Franklin County in February 2021 and settled in favor of Buckeye’s client Mr. Denison in April 2021. Schaad v. Alder was filed in Hamilton County in February 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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