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Ohio’s budget director says the state is off to a modest start this fiscal year

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio’s budget is off to what the state’s chief financial officer described as a “modest” start to the 2025 fiscal year, according to the latest figures from the Office of Budget and Management (OBM).

State Budget Director Kimberly Murnieks speaks to the House Finance Committee in February 2023 about Gov. Mike DeWine's proposed budget.
State Budget Director Kimberly Murnieks speaks to the House Finance Committee in February 2023 about Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget. [Daniel Konik | Statehouse News Bureau]
The monthly figures, released Monday, showed the state raked in 0.5% more tax revenue during July 2024 versus July 2023, which totaled about $10 million in additional revenue year-over-year.

In a Friday preliminary statement previewing the report, Director Kimberly Murnieks said the receipts in the report were “solid to start the new fiscal year.”

The auto sales tax, which grew by 6.8% from last July to this July, was cited by the agency as the biggest contributor to the growth. On the other hand, non-auto sales tax revenue decreased by 1.4% year-over-year. Personal income tax collections were $1.6 million—or 0.2%—higher in July 2024 versus July 2023, while commercial activity tax collections were $2.6 million lower, a 2.3% decrease.

Ohio’s budget, enacted in mid-2023, eliminated the commercial activity tax for 90% of businesses starting in May. That isn’t yet reflected in the monthly report, according to OBM, because the first quarterly receipts are due Aug. 15.

The more modest growth comes about a month after Gov. Mike DeWine signed the record $4.2 billion capital appropriations budget into law. That package of biennial appropriations included more than $700 million in one-time community projects funds, coming from excess money in prior fiscal years that was boosted by COVID-19 relief money.

And during the second half of the state’s 2024 fiscal year, tax collections were lagging almost every month. At the time, legislative leaders—who have backed income tax cuts and praised the state’s financial position—said they were concerned but not raising alarm bells yet.

According to OBM, the first estimates for the fiscal year will be released in the September monthly figures.