The indirect cost of tax abatements in Columbus, Ohio - Axios ColumbusLog InLog InAxios Columbus is an Axios company.

The indirect cost of tax abatements

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Columbus has doled out millions of dollars in tax breaks over the past decade that contend have led to their district being underfunded. Why it matters: The tax dispute shows how Ohio's school funding issue overlaps — and often conflicts with — other municipal priorities like housing and economic growth. Flashback: Education spending has been hotly debated for decades, especially since the landmark that found our state's funding model to be unconstitutional. The ruling highlighted that Ohio's overreliance on property taxes to pay for education created an unfair disparity between rich and poor school districts, . Zoom in: Columbus City Council routinely approves tax abatements benefitting and "Enterprise Zone" abatements are meant to encourage development by exempting most of a company's added property taxes resulting from renovated or newly constructed buildings. Council agreed to eight such tax breaks in July alone. These projects will lead to a combined $190 million in property investments and create 218 full-time jobs, their respective ordinances state. State of play: Property taxes remain a key component of local education funding.The Columbus Education Association, , has repeatedly condemned tax abatements as costing its school district money that could be better spent on classroom materials and building improvements. from earlier this year read: "End handouts to wealthy developers. Columbus students deserve fully resourced schools." What they're saying: City leaders have defended the tax breaks as beneficial to the community without . Development director Michael Stevels told the Columbus Dispatch that developers still pay taxes on their property's original value and ultimately contribute a larger sum after the abatement periods end. This is "growth that might not otherwise occur without the city's initial investment," . Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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