On Sunday, the Akron Beacon-Journal and Ohio.com’s editorial staff endorsed making Ohio’s state earned income tax credit refundable.
In their editorial, the newspaper’s editors cited Scioto Analysis’s cost-benefit analysis released earlier this month, particularly citing the public health and education benefits brought to light by the report.
A refundable credit would benefit Ohio overall, a conclusion amplified in a report released by Scioto Analysis last week. For instance, the study finds that a refundable credit at 30 percent of the federal version would result in an average payment of $750. Among other things, the additional resources would lead to more children born at normal weights, reducing the state’s dismaying level of infant mortality. Such a refundable credit would result in more young people succeeding in higher education.
The cost-benefit analysis was a culmination of a summer-long analysis done by Scioto Analysis on the state earned income tax credit. The study was the first best-practices cost-benefit analysis on a statewide program carried out in over a decade.
“Policymakers have a thirst for solid numbers that can help them understand the impacts of the policy options they have,” said Scioto Analysis Principal Rob Moore. “This the first of many new cost-benefit analyses that will be providing vital information to decision makers in the state.”