On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on HB 16, introduced by Rep. Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent). The measure would “allow taxpayers to contribute a portion of their income tax refunds to the Ohio Historical Society (OHS).” So if you’re not content with the amount of taxes you pay every April, this bill will allow you to contribute a little bit more.
Todd Kleismet, the society’s government relations director, explained that the extra funds would be used to provide grants to local historical projects and initiatives. A quick look at the state budget reveals that Ohio already spends funds on local projects.
In the current budget, the Morgan County Historic Opera House will get $25,000, the Bucyrus Historic Depot and the Galion Historic Big Four Depot will both receive $30,000, the Jamestown Opera House will receive $50,000, and the Van Wert Historical Society will get $70,000. And the list goes on, and on, and on.
The state historical societies of Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania receive no state funding and rely principally on contributions from individual supporters to stay afloat.
Allowing the OHS to tap into another source of tax dollars will all but guarantee the non-profit will never be self-sufficient.
One Response to “Ohio Historical Society wants more tax dollars”
Leave a Reply
You must log in to post a comment.
|
|
Search
Categories
While I am currently attending Illinois State University, I can certainly attest that our historical society is very well maintained and backed by the people of Illinois. Every historical site that I have witnessed is run efficiently without the need of state funding. Ohio’s government seems to think that throwing money at a problem will ultimatley make the state a better place. Although the amount of dollars the state is spending seems small, that money could be back in the hands of Ohio taxpayers’. This suggestion by Ms. Chandler should be brought to it’s knees.