Buckeye Reporter

The Buckeye Institute has filed an appeal brief in the case of Wos v. Cleveland, urging Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals to hold the city accountable for not adhering to its ordinance requiring interest payments on delayed municipal income tax refunds. The appeal follows a trial court's dismissal of the case.

“The trial court erred in dismissing Wos v. Cleveland. There simply are no administrative remedies to exhaust, and the law is clear,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and attorney representing Ms. Wos and Mr. Steffes. “Cleveland owes Ms. Wos, Mr. Steffes, and any other affected taxpayers, interest for failing to issue tax refunds within 90 days.”

The class action lawsuit represents nonresidents of Cleveland who received their municipal income tax refunds more than 90 days after filing their returns. Further updates on the case can be found at BuckeyeInstitute.org/WosvCleveland.

According to Cleveland’s ordinances, tax refunds should include interest if not paid within 90 days after filing, calculated at nearly five percent plus an additional five percent.

Kate Wos of Strongsville filed her 2021 municipal tax return with Cleveland on March 12, 2023, following Ohio House Bill 110's passage that allowed refund claims for 2021 and 2022 taxes. She received her refund over six months later on September 21, 2023, without the due interest or compensation for paid vacation days.

Similarly, Mr. Steffes from North Royalton sought a refund for time worked from home during the pandemic when his employer Stantec closed its Cleveland office in 2021. The city initially refused his refund request and demanded verification from someone working in Stantec’s Cleveland office—a condition impossible to meet as no one was present there during that period. He eventually received his refund in late 2023 but without the required interest or compensation for paid vacation days.