Monthly Archives: January 2014

President Obama delivers State of the Union address

This week, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. In his address he called for a “year of action.” The President’s inability to work with Congress to pass key pieces of his agenda led Obama to give a speech that outlined a number of policy provisions where he would “go it alone” and use his executive authority.

Republicans and many red state Democrats were sharply critical of the President’s decision to by-pass the Congress and use executive orders to change and set policy in a number of key areas. 

Representatives Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) and Al Landis (R-Dover) this week asked members of the House Ways and Means Committee to favorably consider legislation that would require the state tax commissioner to notify Ohio businesses of tax or fee overpayments and provide automatic refunds by crediting future tax liability.

The sponsors said the legislation—House Bill 402—was introduced in response to a recent investigation by the Ohio Inspector General (OIG) of the theft of tax dollars by Kathleen Hyre, a former Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT) employee. The investigation revealed that Hyre had concealed her thefts by moving overpayments from one taxpayer to another—tax agents were able to move funds within the tax system without supervisor approval or knowledge by the taxpayer. The ODT found instances where a refund had been requested but the payment was listed as “pending” in the system and therefore never paid.