TAX REFORM

Tax reform and a healthy business climate go hand in hand. Ron has a history of implementing serious tax reform. During the budget debates in the 124th General Assembly he won a major victory for Ohio taxpayers. The “Young Amendment” or the indexing of Ohio’s income tax brackets for inflation has been called the largest permanent income tax cut in our state’s history. It is scheduled to take effect in July of 2010.

Since tax brackets are static, cost of living pay increases often move a tax payer into higher tax brackets, thus negating the pay increase. By allowing the tax brackets to increase with the cost of living we eliminate this problem and over time save taxpayers billions.

President Ronald Reagan was Ron’s inspiration for this legislation. He indexed the federal tax brackets to increase with inflation in 1985 as part of his tax reduction plan. Finally, 25 years later Ohio will implement this common sense reform. Ohio has been behind too long and too often – he will fight to reverse this trend while continuing to decrease the tax burden on Ohio’s families.

CREATING A BUSINESS (JOBS) FRIENDLY OHIO

In order for Ohio to allow more job creation the state must enact common sense legislation designed to make government smaller, less expensive, less intrusive, and a true servant of the people. Only such a scaled back government will allow the development of a dynamic economy, creating sustainable job growth in Ohio. Job creation is one of the primary reasons he is fighting Ohio’s income tax increases and the bloated budget in state Government (over $51B this biennium). These types of big government initiatives deter job growth and business expansion / establishment in our state. As a long time recruiting firm owner and state legislator, Ron worked tirelessly to create a healthy and job rich economy in Ohio. He truly understands the best government is the one that stays as small as possible while not creating obstacles to business growth. He was extremely humbled and honored as the only member of the 124th Ohio General Assembly to receive the National Federation of Independent Business’s, NFIB, “Guardian of Small Business” award. Roger Geiger, the National Director of the NFIB, said “Through his chairmanship with the Ohio House, Representative Young has demonstrated his leadership on issues important to the vitality of Ohio’s small businesses, fostering an environment that enables Ohio’s entrepreneurs to grow.”

Environmental Issues

Ron considers himself a naturalist, however he has consistently advocated for a balanced “human centered” approach to environmental concerns. As a naturalist he recognizes the critical importance of clean air and potable water. However, the EPA is once again ratcheting up pollution standards, bringing more significance to environmental issues. Before they require higher, and perhaps harmful, standards potentially forcing thousands of Ohioans out of work, Ron believes objective scientific evidence must be presented.

Shrink Government

Ohio needs to live within its means. This last biennium the budget for the state of Ohio was more than $51M. Although lawmakers cut some fluff from the budget, far too much of our hard earned tax dollars are still being wasted. Making matters even worse, near the end of last year, Ohio retroactively increased income taxes for all of 2009. That’s right! In the midst of the worst economic collapse since the great depression, Ohio increased income taxes! Taking money away from families during a time of economic crisis in order to fund government programs is unconscionable as well as harmful to economic recovery. The more money left in the hands of citizens’ means more purchasing power, more economic growth and eventually more jobs. When Ron takes office, he will work to make the government smaller and reduce state income taxes on Ohio citizens.

VOTING NO to TAX INCREASES!

A responsible elected representative of the people must be prepared to say NO! As a State Representative Ron chaired key committees and passed major legislation. But, even more importantly he said “NO!” at the right time. In the 125th General Assembly, when the Columbus politicians offered the largest tax increase in Ohio’s history, Ron stood against it. The $50 billion state budget bill was rife with unnecessary programs and wasteful hand-outs. Facing out-of-control spending increases coupled with a huge tax increase – the only appropriate response was NO!

Of course just saying “NO” is not always enough. Although his efforts failed to stop the tax increase, the 47 “no votes” he helped inspire were close to the 50 needed to defeat the tax. This brought more public scrutiny to the issue and forced the tax-and-spend crowd in Columbus to make the tax increase temporary.

PROPERTY RIGHTS

Ron has always championed individual property rights. When he learned Ohio’s eminent domain laws provided too much power to public entities he passed an important bill. This legislation was the first step to restoring real property rights in Ohio. The bill forces the government to negotiate fairly, provide property owners a copy of the government’s appraisals, and to only take land for a “clearly defined public purpose and in a reasonable period of time.” This legislation helps all property owners in Ohio rest a little easier, knowing big government is not all powerful. Citizens have rights and Ron believes it is the job of public servants to protect those rights.

Life

Ron believes in the sanctity of human life. He has supported parental notification legislation for minors seeking abortions and opposed the public funding of abortions.

Second Amendment

Ron supports each citizen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms. He is supportive of Ohio’s current concealed weapons legislation which grants law-abiding citizens, with proper training, the right to carry a weapon.

Job Creation

Ron understands that small businesses account for the majority of jobs in Ohio. He sees an increasing need to reduce complex bureaucratic forms, reporting requirements, fees, and business taxes, while expanding business tax credits to improve hiring practices. These measures will help create more jobs for Ohioans and make government more efficient.