Financing State Government

Taxes and fees paid by people and business finance the state government. The state budget is an economic plan of how money is to be collected and spent. There are four major budgets created by the state: the operating budget, capital budget, transportation budget and Bureau of Worker’s Compensation budget. Each budget covers two fiscal years (FY), also known as a biennium, and is therefore referred to as a biennial budget. Ohio’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and runs through June 30 of the following year. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, the period July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, is FY 2020, or FY20. The biennial budget that begins July 1, 2019, and concludes June 30, 2021, is the FY 2020-21 budget. Law requires all states to balance their budget, i.e. expenses cannot exceed revenues for any biennium.

Ohio’s “all funds” budget, containing taxes, federal funds and special purpose funds, totals $65.7 billion for FY 2018 and $67.1 billion for FY 2019. The major contributor to the totals is the General Revenue Fund, which is where Ohio deposits the major state-imposed taxes, such as sales, income and business taxes. Details in the fund show which taxes contribute the most and least to paying for state government. This information combined with tax rates and local taxing data can be used to analyze where Ohio has shifted the burden on taxpayers over time and to compare Ohio’s tax practices to other states. The General Revenue Fund totals 32.2 billion in FY 2018 and 33.3 billion in FY 2019.