The Ross Board of Education and school officials have received numerous inquiries from local residents regarding the district’s income tax and whether the Board is considering converting the current income tax to a tax on earned income only. In response, the Board has been discussing this option and requests your input.

On May 3, 2005 voters in the Ross Local School District graciously approved a 0.75% income tax for the purpose of school operations. The income tax was approved for a period of four years with an expiration date of December 31, 2009. Amended House Bill 66, passed by our legislators in 2006, allows voters in a school district to approve a school district income tax which applies to “earned income” only. This option did not exist when our voters approved the school tax in 2005.

Our Board of Education is now considering offering an option to our voters to convert our full-income tax to the earned-income tax. If passed on a continuing basis, the earned-income tax could provide a more stable source of revenue for school operations. The Board could wait until the expiration of the issue in 2009 but believes voters should be given a chance to make the conversion earlier. For some, this conversion could slightly increase their tax liability. However, for many, this conversion would reduce their school income tax liability.

Currently, all income that is taxed by the State of Ohio is also taxed by the school district. If voters approve the conversion to earned income only, taxpayers would not pay school district income tax on retirement income (pensions), interest, dividends, capital gains, profit from rental activities, distributive shares of profit from S corporations, lottery winnings, and any other income which is not earned income.

Income subject to the tax conversion would be wages, salaries, tips, other employee compensation, and self-employment income from sole proprietorships and from partnerships. All of these earned income sources are currently subject to the existing school district income tax.

This income tax conversion would have no impact on property taxes.
As the Board of Education ponders this decision, we welcome your input via this survey. Thank you for participating.