Vivek Ramaswamy’s Ohio Governor campaign focuses on property tax cuts, income tax phase-out, tackling medicaid fraud

Republican gubernatorial nominee from Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, is making an economic and government-reform pitch to voters: phase out the state income tax, sharply reduce property taxes and pursue Medicaid fraud aggressively.

Ramaswamy’s proposals are central to his campaign against Democratic nominee Amy Acton as voters prepare to choose Ohio’s next governor on Nov. 3. The former presidential candidate is aiming to turn his outsider status into a mandate for sweeping changes to the state’s tax and spending policies.

Ramaswamy is promising to eliminate Ohio’s individual income tax entirely over time.

He proposes to start by eliminating the state tax on capital gains in his first two-year budget and then phasing out the broader income tax over eight to 10 years.

He reasons that a zero-income-tax Ohio would attract businesses, investment and workers, putting the state in the company of states such as Florida and Texas. Ramaswamy claims that economic growth, combined with reductions in bureaucracy and spending would cover up the revenue loss via tax cuts.

However, the proposal raises some key questions. Researchers estimate that 55.6% of the benefit from eliminating the capital-gains tax would go to Ohioans earning more than $1 million annually. By contrast, residents earning less than $100,000 would receive 7.3% of the benefit.

Ramaswamy himself is a billionaire and would benefit substantially from the elimination of the tax.

Ramaswamy initially called for eliminating property taxes altogether, but later adopted a more immediate proposal: rolling property taxes back to approximately their pre-pandemic levels and then limiting their future growth.

Property taxes help finance public education, police, fire services and other local operations and analysts warn that a rollback would result in significant revenue losses.

The proposal comes as homeowners across Ohio have faced rising property-tax bills following increases in property valuations.

Tax and policy experts question whether cutting bureaucracy alone could generate enough money to replace billions in local revenue.

Medicaid is the third major pillar of Ramaswamy’s campaign. More than 3 million Ohioans receive Medicaid coverage, which cost $34.2 billion in fiscal year 2024.

Ramaswamy says the state should pursue suspected fraud more aggressively and simplify Medicaid administration to identify improper spending.

Ramaswamy asserts that fraudulent providers increase costs for legitimate Medicaid recipients and taxpayers.

He has made prosecution of Medicaid fraud a prominent campaign message, promising to make enforcement a statewide priority.

The issue has gained additional attention amid investigations and reports involving alleged fraud by Ohio health-care providers.