OHIO – Do you think Ohio’s property taxes are outrageously high? Now you have the chance to make your voice heard on this issue by signing a petition to let Ohio voters decide on abolishing property taxes through a constitutional amendment.
The movement, led by Ax Ohio Tax, recently filed a proposed constitutional amendment titled “Abolishment of Taxes on Real Property” with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The filing can be viewed on the Attorney General’s website here: https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Legal/Ballot-Initiatives/Petitions-Submitted-to-the-Attorney-General-s-Offi.
Elayne Cross, one of the founding committee members behind the proposal, says this campaign represents the culmination of over a decade of efforts to reform Ohio’s property tax system. “We’ve tried working with lawmakers, educating voters, and proposing reforms,” she said. “But it’s become clear — to truly protect homeownership, we have to go directly to the people.”
Cross, along with fellow committee members Keith Davey, Leonard Gilbert, John Marra, and Brian Massie, has been working under the Ax Ohio Tax banner to raise awareness and gather support for their measure. Beth Blackmarr, aligned with a partner group in Cuyahoga County, is also supporting the initiative.
At the heart of the campaign is the idea of what Cross calls “true homeownership.”
“You don’t truly own your home if the government can take it from you because you missed a few tax payments,” Cross said. “In some Ohio counties, foreclosure proceedings can begin after just three missed payments.”
Cross noted that about 3% of all parcels in Ohio are in some form of tax foreclosure — a figure that varies from county to county, with no centralized database tracking the total. “It’s happening quietly, and the public has no idea how many people are losing homes this way,” she said.
Conversely, in Belmont County, the owners of East Ohio Regional Hospital accrued $1.2 million in unpaid county taxes over a period of years, with foreclosure discussed after the facility closed.
Cross believes the state’s reliance on property taxes — a system dating back to Ohio’s days in the Northwest Territory and even earlier under King George’s colonial rule — is outdated and unjust. It hits seniors and working class families hard.
Ax Ohio Tax envisions a system in which essential services, like education, are funded through income or sales taxes, rather than through levies on property. Cross argues this could actually increase school revenue, pointing to areas where local districts already rely on income taxes. She also supports a flat state income tax as part of a larger reform package.
While some lawmakers have proposed incremental reforms, such as the so-called “Flip the Script” bill, Cross dismisses these efforts as insufficient. “That bill is a band-aid on a tumor,” she said. “It doesn’t address the core issue.”
Cross said she understands eliminating property tax will be a major adjustment for the state. “But if the state is the patient, this is gangrene — you cut off the limb to save the body. No one’s coming to save the body. So we’ll do it ourselves.”
Ax Ohio Tax is now traveling across Ohio, meeting with homeowners, business leaders, elected officials, and community organizations to rally support and gather the signatures needed to place the measure on the 2026 statewide ballot.
“This is not just about numbers. It’s about people,” Cross emphasized. “We’ve met elderly residents losing their homes due to medical debt and fixed incomes. It’s heartbreaking. We have to stop using people’s homes as leverage.”
The campaign hopes to spark a larger conversation about fairness, homeownership, and the role of government in taxation. Cross cited an Ohio Supreme Court case from the early twentieth century where a property owner contested the state’s use of his tax money to pay for a school outside his district.
“This issue has been festering for over a century,” Cross said. “It’s time to fix this thing.”
More information about the initiative and ways to get involved can be found at https://axohtax.com/.
River News Network is sponsoring the campaign in eastern Ohio counties. Check back here for more information, a copy of the legislation, and petition signing locations.
