Ohio COVID-19 tax collections remained strong

(The Center Square) – The COVID-19 pandemic did not hurt tax collections in Ohio.

State and local municipalities collected more than $5,000 per person in taxes during fiscal year 2021, according to a new report released by the Tax Foundation.

Ohio’s figures, though, were relatively low compared to the rest of the nation. Washington, D.C. and New York each collected more than $10,000 per person, while California fell just shy of the $10,000 mark.

“Contrary to initial expectations, the pandemic years were good for state and local tax collections, and while the surges of 2021 and 2022 have not continued into calendar year 2023, revenues remain robust in most states and well above prepandemic levels even after accounting for inflation,” the report said.

Ohio’s collections ranked 27th in the nation, better than Pennsylvania, one spot better than neighboring Indiana but worse than Michigan, Kentucky and West Virginia.

The report sasid since fiscal year 2019, the last full fiscal year before the pandemic, state and local tax collections have risen more than 27%.

“Much of that gain is subsumed by inflation, but even after adjusting for inflation, state and local tax revenues are more than” 7% higher than they were prepandemic, according to the report.

The states with the lowest state and local tax collections during the period were Alaska, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi.