Ohio’s third-busiest airport has hundreds of employees, private hangers for Fortune 500 company customers, and more than $150 million in annual revenue.
But unlike its competitors, Ohio State University Airport’s 325.6 acres sit on tax-exempt land owned by the university bearing its name, saving the school untold millions in property taxes.
On Wednesday, a taxpayer urged the Ohio Supreme Court to invalidate the school’s 75-year exemption, arguing the state’s premier college doesn’t qualify because it only uses small portions of the property for flying lessons and other programs.
“In 1943 when the exemption was originally granted, OSU’s airport was operated...