For immediate release:

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008

 

 

National Taxpayers Union Says Driving Ohio Payday

 Lenders Out of Business is Bad for Taxpayers

 

 

Columbus, Ohio—Ohioans for Financial Freedom today welcomed the educational efforts of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), which recently published a guide highlighting growing public concerns over H.R. 545, the law that would effectively eliminate the payday lending industry in Ohio.  NTU is the latest in a long line of organizations that have recognized that H.R. 545 is bad for taxpayers.    

 

The NTU issued a ballot guide which says specifically:

 

–Issue #5 asks voters to approve a law that effectively puts payday lending services and their employees out of business in Ohio by making it unprofitable to offer these loans. If payday loans are driven out of existence, there could be additional political pressure to boost government assistance programs when Ohioans can no longer help themselves because the most common – and often only – method to help cover unplanned expenses has been eliminated.

 

Kim Norris, spokesperson for Ohioans for Financial Freedom, said, “We’re grateful that the nation’s most respected taxpayers’ organization is informing Ohioans about the drawbacks of Issue 5.  NTU recognizes that denying citizens financial choice ultimately hits taxpayers. “Ohioans are concerned about jobs, privacy, and access to short-term credit.   A ‘No’ vote on Issue 5 is in the best interests of taxpayers and consumers.” 

 

Join with thousands of Ohioans, consumers, businesses at www.Ohioans4FinancialFreedom.com for a Vote No on Issue 5. 

 

 

 

 

The National Taxpayers Union has posted a copy of a letter they recently sent to members of Ohio’s House of Representatives.

The letter calls on Ohio lawmakers to “put their trust in the free market and the common sense of working people who understand that taking out a payday loan can be a sound financial option, often cheaper than a bounced check fee or a utility bill late charge. A punitive interest rate cap will not help consumers – it will make credit less accessible to Ohioans and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. A higher tax burden is something that NTU’s 13,600-plus Ohio members, and our 362,000 members throughout the country, actively oppose.

Just came across a blog by a surgeon in Ohio discussing the high taxes he paid in the Buckeye State.  In case Mr. Buckeye Surgeon is not paying attention to the debate over payday lending in Ohio…he may want to read what the National Taxpayers Union had to say about the impact a ban on payday lending would have on taxpayers.  The excerpts below discuss a proposed ban in Virginia. In Ohio, the numbers are even greater, with millions more customers, nearly 1,600 storefront locations and 7,500 Ohioans employed by the industry.

…Close to half a million people would still need to get emergency funds from some other source besides payday loans. That source could be taxpayers.

…Banning payday loans runs counter to all the political lip service that is paid to personal responsibility and self-reliance.

…In addition, many citizens would be forced into unemployment if the industry were to be eliminated – again, squeezing taxpayers as well as the commonwealth’s budget. Across the state, about 2,400 Virginians employed by the payday-lending industry would lose their jobs, their health insurance, and other benefits. State legislators must ask themselves whether the Virginia economy – despite an overall downturn in the U.S. – is really so robust that they can afford to vote 2,400 jobs out of existence.