In the past, the state was not required to notify business if they over-payed taxes.
The state will return nearly $14 million in tax over payments to businesses that didn't even know they paid too much. State law doesn't mandate that the state inform businesses about over-payment so until now they haven't.
"If government knows a job creator paid too much in taxes then it should do the right thing and give the money back, because government works for us, not the other way around," Gov. John Kasich said. "It’s just simple fairness and I can’t believe this wasn’t being done already."
Ohio Department of Taxation Commissioner Joe Testa said they'll return the funds to 3,500 Ohio businesses that unknowingly overpaid their Commercial Activity Tax, also known as the CAT tax. The refunds range from $66,000 to $150.
In the past the Ohio Department of Taxation didn’t notify businesses of over payments, even if they were aware of it, but instead made businesses discover the error themselves and then ask for their money back. If businesses failed to discover the error within four years then they forever lost the right to reclaim it.
Other taxes will be analyzed in the months ahead. Testa says there's likely millions more the state will be sending back to businesses. He wasn't sure how much money was over-paid to the state in the past.
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