By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A bill simplifying taxes for Ohio residents and businesses could be unveiled in April, House Speaker Larry Householder said Monday in a visit to Cincinnati.

"The greatest challenge we have in Ohio today is tax reform," Householder told members of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce in a meeting at the Hyatt Regency downtown.

Written in 1932, the state tax code doesn't take into account the shift from a smokestack economy or Southern states' increasing competition for jobs, Householder said. "It (tax code) has to grow our jobs and make it easier for companies to do business here."

He was short on specifics of the new bill, being written by state Rep. Sally Kilbane, R-Rocky River, but said it would reduce the number of tax brackets from nine to three or four.

"We hope that it's going to decrease taxes," Householder said.

Gov. Bob Taft called for sweeping tax reforms in his 2003 State of the State address, but the General Assembly instead spent most of the year grappling with a projected $4 billion deficit. Ohio Tax Commissioner William Wilkins predicted a month ago that the tax code would undergo major changes this year.

Householder, a Republican from Glenford, is serving his last year before term limits force him from the House. He continues to raise campaign contributions and he created a new Web site last year (www.householderforohio.com), but he would not say Monday what political office he might seek next.

He has been at the center of several political controversies during his tenure.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a fellow Republican, asked for a federal investigation into whether Householder overstepped the law in his raising and spending of campaign money.

---

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com