A Special Message from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce

The two-year Ohio operating budget finally passed on Wednesday after the first deadline extension in a decade. Many changes were made to both the House and Senate versions for the final budget to make it out of Conference Committee Tuesday evening. It was finally signed by the Governor early Thursday morning.

The Business Income Deduction (BID) was completely restored to the full $250,000 of business income, with the 3% rate cap on additional business income.

However, they added the caveat that lawyers and lobbyists specifically are no longer eligible for the BID altogether. This provision addresses the “loophole” concerns some legislators had about the original policy, which was intended for small business growth and job creation.

This is a major win for small businesses all across Ohio. It comes as a direct result of your engagement and involvement as part of this coalition of chambers. Thousands of business owners sent their legislators letters asking for restoration of the BID, and we made enough collective noise to affect some major positive change for the business community and save businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. This is what the clout of a unified business community and what we are able to accomplish together looks like.