Yesterday, Governor Strickland attempted to make the claim that Ohio’s tax burden was lower than its neighbors based on an analysis from the Federation of Tax Administrators that used data collected by the U.S. Census.
His Department of Taxation’s press release stated:
Except it seems these Tax Administrators, and in turn, the Governor, failed to read the all-important fine print of the U.S. Census study.
Get ready for this, it’s a doozy.
The Census itself states that using their study as a way to interpret tax burden is misleading.
There is spin, there is twisting of the facts, and then there is this….Strickland outright misleading the public.
Unfortunately, Ohio’s media outlets bought what the Governor was selling in stories many of them ran yesterday and today.
The reality is this, Ohio’s tax burden is one of the highest in the country. Read the details here.
The FTA, Governor Strickland, and his Department of Taxation owe an apology and a retraction.
UPDATE: Americans for Tax Reform is out with their own thoughts on Strickland’s outrageous claim. Check it out.