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Speaker Huffman defends flat 2.75% income tax, says Brook Park stadium deal tied to revenue test
Summary
Speaker Matt Huffman called the legislature's new budget "balanced," defended the flat 2.75% income tax as revenue-generating, and said up to $600 million in unclaimed funds may back a Brook Park/Cleveland Browns development only if a spending model shows the state will recover the money.
Speaker Matt Huffman said the legislature's recently passed operating budget is balanced and designed to match spending with estimated revenues, and he defended a flat 2.75% income tax rate as a policy that can increase overall revenue.
Huffman, speaking in an interview, argued that lower flat income-tax rates leave households with more money to spend, creating additional sales-tax receipts and higher overall revenue. "It's a false narrative," he said of arguments that lower rates necessarily reduce state revenue. He also noted the budget increased spending by about 1.9%, which he described as the lowest in many years and below inflation.
Why it matters: Huffman framed the tax change and modest spending rise as fiscally responsible choices that preserved state flexibility while allowing for policy priorities. He said the budget includes a variety of policy items and credited staffers who worked on the plan.
On economic development, Huffman described a proposed Brook Park project tied to the Cleveland Browns and said the plan would use up to $600 million from unclaimed funds rather than "ordinary taxpayer money." He stressed the funds would not be released unless a spending model "demonstrates that the state will recover the funds directly from increased tax revenue from the project." He contrasted that safeguard with many local development loans that carry no repayment guarantee.
Huffman described the Brook Park/Cleveland Browns initiative as potentially the largest economic-development project in state history and said officials built conditions to protect the state's finances: "they don't have access to the funds unless the spending model demonstrates" recovery. He named several staff and advisers involved in the budget work, including Brian Stewart, David Rei, Marcus Benjamin and Megan Sorenson.
The interview included no formal vote or legislative action on the project; Huffman's comments described policy intent and the administration's approach to using unclaimed funds. The interview ended after closing remarks and social-media plugs from the host.
