Ujvagi fails to gain new tax to fund training, scholarships

4/11/2005

COLUMBUS - The House Finance Committee last night rejected Democratic amendments that would have taxed sales of investment metals, coins, and bullion to fund scholarships for military widows and widowers, revive a training program for women, and fund the Afro-American Museum near Dayton.

"I absolutely can't think of any action we could possibly take that would be a better and greater example of return on investment on our tax dollars than this [Women in Transition/Displaced Homemakers Program]," said Rep. Peter Ujvagi (D., Toledo), sponsor of two of the three amendments.

Mr. Ujvagi said elimination of the exemption would have raised between $700,000 and $1 million. The three amendments would have used $200,000 of that for the scholarships, $374,490 to saving the training program from the chopping block, and $95,312 for the museum.

Mr. Ujvagi targeted the sales exemption after The Blade reported the controversial $50 million investment of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation in a rare-coin fund operated by prominent Toledo area Republican and coin dealer Tom Noe.