Ohio senators propose sales tax exemption on gun sales
Two Republican state senators in Ohio have reintroduced a measure eliminating sales tax for guns and ammunition while dangling tax incentives to lure firearm manufacturers to the state. The sponsors contend Ohio is losing out on gun sales as buyers travel to neighboring tax-free states, and that Ohio has an opportunity to add new jobs if it takes steps to attract businesses.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
State Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, who sponsored a similar bill last session has filed the proposal again. He's joined by state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, who moved from the House to the Senate following last year's election and previously backed similar proposals in the lower chamber.
In committee, Schaffer argued Ohio should forgo taxes on firearms and ammunition because gun buyers are likely to cross state lines for cheaper purchases.
'Senate Bill 59 will make the related businesses in our state more competitive with those in neighboring states,' Schaffer argued. 'In 2021, similar language was adopted into law in the state of West Virginia and that highlights the necessity of this legislation to ensure Ohioans support Ohio businesses.'
Although West Virginia has adopted a sales tax exemption for gun and ammunition purchases, none of the other states neighboring Ohio have taken similar steps. A handful of other states, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, don't charge sales tax on guns either, but that's because they have no state sales tax at all.
The impact in Ohio could be significant. According to a study conducted by home security website SafeHome.org utilizing data from the National Instant Background Check System, Ohioans purchased nearly 600,000 firearms in 2023. That works out to 668 weapons per 10,000 residents over 21 years of age.
Schaffer cited Legislative Service Commission research that pegged the price tag for the exemption at $22.5 million to almost $38 million. 'Compared to the 2024 total (general revenue fund) of $13.7 billion,' he said.
While Schaffer emphasized how their measure would benefit consumers, Cutrona focused on businesses.
'Jobs. This is what this bill does,' Cutrona argued. 'It creates jobs here in the state of Ohio.'
He explained they'll encourage existing businesses to expand and attract new businesses to the state with a refundable tax credit. Under the proposal, companies could apply for credits tied to their increase in payroll so long as they make a capital investment in Ohio of at least $2 million.
Cutrona described a recent visit to a trade show for firearm manufacturers.
'When I spoke to those CEOs, those owners, you know what they told me?' Cutrona recalled. 'They're looking for states that want their business. They're looking for states that they can appropriately be able to manufacture and produce their product.'
'Well guess what?' he added, 'Ohio is open for business.'
Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, voiced skepticism for their proposal.
'How many people have been prevented from buying ammunition or a gun because of our sales tax?' he pressed the sponsors.
Schaffer side-stepped DeMora's question arguing, 'it's not so much about how many people will be prevented from buying it, my concern is they'll go across the border.'
He argued hunting and target shooting enthusiasts go through purchase enough that 'for them it makes a big difference.'
'And just to go five, ten, fifteen miles across the border to West Virginia to buy it tax free is a big difference,' he said, 'and then our retailers lose out, and that hurts our jobs.'
Cutrona chimed in that the state line is only about a 40-minute drive from his home in the Youngstown area.
'You're going to start to see a numerous amount of business(es) leave areas like mine to go to states like West Virginia,' he argued.
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
16 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
House ethics panel tells Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to pay more for Met Gala attendance
Advertisement As a guest of Vogue, Ocasio-Cortez and her partner received tickets to the gala valued at $35,000, as well as customized clothing, hair and makeup styling and a hotel room to prepare for the high-society event. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The congresswoman worked with an attorney to comply with House ethics rules and paid for most of the goods and services with personal funds, but the ethics panel found 'the payments were significantly delayed and some payments fell short of fair market value.' In a statement, Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, Mike Casca, said: 'The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House. She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she's done at each step in this process.' Advertisement Representative Mike Kelly Representative Mike Kelly speaks during a hearing on the Secret Service's security failures regarding the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, Dec. 5, 2024, in Washington. Rod Lamkey/Associated Press The House Ethics Committee issued a formal reproval Friday of Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., following a yearslong investigation into an insider-trading allegation over his wife's purchase of stock in a steel company in his Butler-area congressional district. The panel also said Kelly and his wife, Victoria Kelly, should divest of any stock in the company, Cleveland-Cliffs, before the congressman takes any further official actions related to it. While the committee said it 'did not find evidence' that Kelly 'knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information,' its report also said it 'did not receive full cooperation from Mrs. Kelly and was therefore unable to determine whether her stock purchase was improper.' However, the report said, 'Representative Kelly's failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged misconduct' and of the investigation itself was a violation of the code of official conduct. The committee did 'not find a clear violation' of conflict of interest. The congressman said in a statement Friday, 'My family and I look forward to putting this distraction behind us.' Kelly noted the investigation has 'unnecessarily' lasted for nearly five years, and in the time since the Cleveland Cliffs Butler Works plant faced an uncertain future. 'Throughout this process, I have fought for the 1,400 workers at the plant, I've spoken with these workers, and they appreciate the hard work we have done to fight for those jobs and for Butler,' Kelly said. The investigation was launched after a July 2021 referral regarding allegations the congressman's wife may have purchased stock based on confidential or nonpublic information he had learned during official duties. Advertisement The Ethics Committee staff reviewed more than 25,000 pages of documents, the report said, and interviewed people including the congressman. It found Kelly had advocated for so-called Section 232 tariffs for the product the plant produced even after Mrs. Kelly held stock in Cleveland-Cliffs. 'He took several actions to specifically benefit Cleveland-Cliffs during the time his wife had a direct financial interest in the company,' it said. Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., speaks at an event, July 7, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it had unanimously voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations involving Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. In May, the Office of Congressional Ethics referred several allegations to the House Ethics committee, including claims Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, accepted campaign contributions tied to official actions and requested community project funding for a for-profit entity. The south Florida congresswoman has previously faced scrutiny over her campaign activities and the use of her congressional office. And earlier this year, a Florida state agency sued a company owned by her family, alleging it overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for pandemic-related work and has refused to return the funds. In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick underscored that the ethics panel had not reached any final decision and that the further review does not mean she made any violations. 'I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close,' she said. Representative Henry Cuellar Representative Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, speaks during a campaign event, May 4, 2022, in San Antonio. Eric Gay/Associated Press The House Ethics Committee also reauthorized its investigation into Rep. Henry Cuellar over whether he engaged in multiple illegal abuses of his office. The committee launched its investigation into the Texas Democrat last year after the Justice Department indicted Cuellar on numerous federal charges, including bribery, conspiracy and money laundering. Advertisement The committee said in its reauthorization that lawmakers are 'aware of the risks associated with dual investigations' and cautioned that 'the mere fact of an investigation into these allegations does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.' Cuellar's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Matt Brown contributed.
Boston Globe
16 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
In Epstein furor, Trump struggles to shake off a controversy his allies once stoked
It was another example of how the Epstein saga — and his administration's disjointed approach to it — has shadowed Trump when he's otherwise at the height of his influence. He's enacted a vast legislative agenda, reached trade deals with key countries and tightened his grip across the federal government. Yet he's struggled to stamp out the embers of a political crisis that could become a full-on conflagration. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Trump faces pressure from his own supporters Advertisement The Republican president's supporters want the government to release secret files about Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York jail cell six years ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. They believe him to be the nexus of a dark web of powerful people who abused underage girls. Administration officials who once stoked conspiracy theories now insist there's nothing more to disclose, a stance that has stirred skepticism because of Trump's former friendship with Epstein. Advertisement Trump has repeatedly denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. For a president skilled at manipulating the media and controlling the Republican Party, it has been the most challenging test of his ability to shift the conversation in his second term. 'This is a treadmill to nowhere. How do you get off of it?' said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist. 'I genuinely don't know the answer to that.' Trump has demanded his supporters drop the matter and urged Republicans to block Democratic requests for documents on Capitol Hill. But he has also directed the Justice Department to divulge some additional information in hopes of satisfying his supporters. A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said Trump is trying to stay focused on his agenda while also demonstrating some transparency. After facing countless scandals and investigations, the official said, Trump is on guard against the typical playbook of drip-drip disclosures that have plagued him in the past. It's clear Trump sees the Epstein case as a continuation of the 'witch hunts' he's faced over the years, starting with the investigation into Russian interference during his election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton nearly a decade ago. The sprawling inquiry led to convictions against some top advisers but did not substantiate allegations Trump conspired with Moscow. Trump's opponents, he wrote on social media on Thursday, 'have gone absolutely CRAZY, and are playing another Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax but, this time, under the guise of what we will call the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM.' During the Russia investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors were a straightforward foil for Trump to rail against. Ty Cobb, the lawyer who served as the White House's point person, said the president 'never felt exposed' because 'he thought he had a legitimate gripe.' Advertisement The situation is different this time now that the Justice Department has been stocked with loyalists. 'The people that he has to get mad at are basically his people as opposed to his inquisitors and adversaries,' Cobb said. It was Trump's allies who excavated the Epstein debacle In fact, Trump's own officials are the most responsible for bringing the Epstein case back to the forefront. FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, regularly stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein before assuming their current jobs, floating the idea the government had covered up incriminating and compelling information that needed to be brought to light. 'Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are,' Patel said in a 2023 podcast. Attorney General Pam Bondi played a key role, too. She intimated in a Fox News Channel interview in February that an Epstein 'client list' was sitting on her desk for review — she would later say she was referring to the Epstein files more generally — and greeted far-right influencers with binders of records from the case that consisted largely of information already in the public domain. Tensions spiked earlier this month when the FBI and the Justice Department, in an unsigned two-page letter, said that no client list existed, that the evidence was clear Epstein had killed himself and that no additional records from the case would be released to the public. It was a seeming backtrack on the administration's stated commitment to transparency. Amid a fierce backlash from Trump's base and influential conservative personalities, Bongino and Bondi squabbled openly in a tense White House meeting. Advertisement Since then, the Trump administration has scrambled to appear transparent, including by seeking the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in the case — though it's hardly clear that courts would grant that request or that those records include any eye-catching details anyway. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has taken the unusual step of interviewing the imprisoned Maxwell over the course of two days at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where her lawyer said she would 'always testify truthfully.' All the while, Trump and his allies have resurfaced the Russia investigation as a rallying cry for a political base that has otherwise been frustrated by the Epstein saga. Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who just weeks ago appeared on the outs with Trump over comments on Iran's nuclear ambitions, seemed to return to the president's good graces this week following the declassification and release of years-old documents she hoped would discredit long-settled conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The developments allowed Trump to rehash longstanding grievances against President Barack Obama and his Democratic advisers. Trump's talk of investigations into perceived adversaries from years ago let him, in effect, go back in time to deflect attention from a very current crisis. 'Whether it's right or wrong,' Trump said, 'it's time to go after people.'
Hamilton Spectator
17 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Disgraced former US Rep. George Santos reports to NJ federal prison to serve 7-year fraud sentence
NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos reported to a federal prison in New Jersey on Friday to begin serving a seven-year sentence for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the New York Republican was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey. Santos pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors and stealing people's identities in order to fund his congressional campaign. Lawyers for Santos didn't respond to phone and email messages seeking comment. The ever-online Santos, who turned 37 years old on Tuesday, hosted a farewell party for himself on the social media platform X on Thursday night. 'Well, darlings … The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote in a post afterwards. 'From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried … most days.' Santos will serve his time in a minimum security camp at the all-male facility, which also includes a larger medium security prison, according to the Bureau of Prisons. In a Thursday interview , he didn't name the prison where he was serving in sentence, but described the camp setting as a 'big upgrade' from the medium-security lockup he was initially assigned to. Among the other notable inmates serving time at Fairton is Lamor Miller-Whitehead. The Brooklyn preacher, known for his flashy lifestyle and friendship with New York City' Mayor Eric Adams, was sentenced to nine years in prison last year for fraud . In April, a federal judge declined to give Santos a lighter two-year sentence that he sought, saying she was unconvinced he was truly remorseful. In the weeks before his sentencing, Santos said he was 'profoundly sorry' for his crimes, but he also complained frequently that he was a victim of a political witch hunt and prosecutorial overreach . Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP. But he served for less than a year and became just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues after it was revealed he had fabricated much of his life story. During his winning campaign, Santos painted himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms when, in reality, he was struggling financially. He also falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a college he never attended and referred to himself as 'a proud American Jew' before insisting he meant that he was 'Jew-ish' because his Brazilian mother's family had a Jewish background. The cascade of lies eventually led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how Santos funded his campaign and, ultimately, his political downfall. Since his ouster from Congress, Santos has been making a living hosting a podcast called 'Pants on Fire with George Santos' and hawking personalized video messages on Cameo. He has also been holding out hope that his unwavering support for President Donald Trump might help him win a last-minute reprieve. The White House said this week that it 'will not comment on the existence or nonexistence' of any clemency request. In media appearances this month, the former lawmaker wasn't shy about sharing his morbid fears about life behind bars. 'I'm not trying to be overdramatic here. I'm just being honest with you. I look at this as practically a death sentence,' Santos told Tucker Carlson during an interview . 'I'm not built for this.' On social media, his recent musings have sometimes taken a dark turn. 'I'm heading to prison, folks and I need you to hear this loud and clear: I'm not suicidal. I'm not depressed. I have no intentions of harming myself, and I will not willingly engage in any sexual activity while I'm in there,' Santos said on X . 'If anything comes out suggesting otherwise, consider it a lie … full stop.' ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
