Ohio Property-Tax Repeal Drive Prompts DeWine Warning of Sales Tax Up to 20%

DeWine’s projection highlights the unresolved question of how to replace funding for schools and local services.

Overview

A citizen group is gathering more than 413,000 valid signatures to place a constitutional amendment ending property taxes on Ohio’s Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, but the measure has not qualified yet.
Gov. Mike DeWine warned the change could force sales taxes toward 17–20% and said income taxes might also have to rise, calling the fiscal impact devastating.
Ohio’s current state sales tax rate is 5.75% with an average combined rate of about 7.29%, well below the levels DeWine cited in his projection.
Geauga County school districts reported that 68–75% of their budgets come from property taxes and projected their cash reserves would be exhausted by 2027 without replacement revenue.
Geauga County Auditor Chuck Walder cautioned that libraries and townships rely heavily on property taxes and began public forums, as a separate ODOT tolling study was paused by the Ohio Controlling Board.