Ohio Supreme Court upholds taxing former commuters working from home during coronavirus pandemic

The races for three Ohio Supreme Court seats this November will help determine the fate of several energy policy cases, including those that impact ratepayers in Ohio.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled it was constitutional for Cleveland and other cities to tax former commuters as if they were continuing to drive to work during the coronavirus pandemic, even as office shutdowns resulted in them working from home instead.

The ruling, issued Wednesday morning, means that cities with a significant number of commuters won’t face the risk of state courts ordering that they refund the millions of dollars they collected during that time.

The ruling was 5-2, with Democratic Justices Jennifer Brunner, Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart joining Republican Justices Joe Deters and Pat DeWine. Republican Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy and Republican Justice Pat Fischer dissented.

The lawsuit was brought by Josh Schaad, a resident of Blue Ash, a Cincinnati suburb. He was represented by the Buckeye Institute, a conservative advocacy organization in Columbus. He argued that a temporary state law that legislators passed during the pandemic allowing for cities to collect taxes from former commuters violated his due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

It drew opposition from the Ohio Municipal League, which represents cities and villages throughout the state and support from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the business group.

Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer

This story will be updated

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