State tax booklets arriving soon

The last of the state income-tax books that normally arrive the first week of January should reach their destinations by early next week.

A prolonged legislative fight in November and December over how to fix an $851 million hole in the state budget forced the state tax department to delay mailing its materials to Ohioans and public venues.

Based on paper returns filed in January last year, tax refunds totaling more than $8 million have been held up because of the budget debate. State leaders were at odds over delaying a 4.2% income-tax cut.

Tax booklets could not be printed until the Ohio Department of Taxation was certain of the income-tax rates. Gov. Ted Strickland signed the budget bill Dec. 23, about three weeks after the department normally sends about 1.8 million tax booklets to the printer.

As of Monday, the department had completed about 52% of its mailings but only one-third of its bulk distributions to libraries, post offices and banks. By Tuesday of next week, the "vast majority" of materials will have been sent out, said John Kohlstrand, spokesman for the tax department.

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