Guest Blog (Tom Adelson, Scott Meacham & Preston Doerflinger): Oklahoma tax credit is subsidizing out-of-state businesses

Senator Tom Adelson is a state senator from Tulsa. Scott Meacham is the former State Treasurer and former director of the Oklahoma Office of State Finance. Preston Doerflinger is the current director of the Oklahoma Office of State Finance. If… Read more [More...]

Tax Breaks: Setting out the case for and against

Note: The Task Force for the Study of State Tax Credits and Economic Incentives, created by HB 1285, is meeting over the interim to scrutinize tax credits. This blog post excerpts an OK Policy issue brief from last year titled… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk – July 29, 2011

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk is dedicated to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts. This week at OK Policy, we reported on the first meeting of a legislative task force to evaluate state… Read more [More...]

Under the Microscope: Task Force begins work scrutinizing tax credits

The Oklahoma tax code is riddled with some 450 ‘tax expenditures’ that reduce state funds by exempting or giving back tax payments for favored groups and activities. Despite widespread rhetoric about the need for serious reform of  tax expenditures, eliminating… Read more [More...]

In The Know: July 14, 2011

In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign… Read more [More...]

Can we stop the runaway train of tax expenditures?

In an earlier post, we discussed tax breaks that had been extended or newly created in the most recent legislative session. The governor promised to eliminate tax credits that “do not create jobs,” but there were no successful bills to… Read more [More...]

Eliminating tax breaks: The dog that didn't bark

In her first State of the State speech, Gov. Fallin said, ”Our course of action will be simple: only tax credits that create jobs will stay. For instance, my budget begins the process of restoring the Aerospace Engineer Tax Credit,… Read more [More...]

Bill would raise taxes for 1 million low-income Oklahomans

As we pointed out in an earlier post, there is more than one way to cut taxes. We can do it in a way that mostly benefits those with the highest incomes, as is the case with cutting the top… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk – March 11, 2011

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute?  The Weekly Wonk is dedicated to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts. Once again, property tax cuts are on the table this legislative session.  OK Policy took a close look at… Read more [More...]

The three part test for tax credits – and the fourth part we should be asking

When we discuss government budgets, direct spending receives the most attention by far. Less noticed is the substantial expenditure on tax credits and incentives, what some have called the “submerged state.” That inattention may have allowed several unconstitutional measures to… Read more [More...]