Category: Media

Institute suggests options for protecting services (Associated Press)

Original at http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9MJ20Q00.htm By Tim Talley, Associated Press A research group that studies state policy issues said Wednesday budget writers should consider closing income tax loopholes, eliminating some sales tax exemptions and tapping non-appropriated state revenue to prevent potentially drastic… Read more [More...]

Drilling tax breaks add up (Tulsa World)

Original at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20110329_16_A9_Thesta937208 By WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer The state has lost $517 million in tax revenue in the past seven years because of exemptions to the gross production tax – the lion’s share of that going to deep… Read more [More...]

Report: Tax cuts won’t benefit most state households (Tulsa World)

Original at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110314_16_A1_Eighty571069 By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer Eighty percent of Oklahoma households would see little or no direct benefit from an impending quarter-percent income tax cut, according to a report issued last week by the Oklahoma Policy Institute.… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma poverty a chronic, unaddressed problem (Tulsa World)

Original at http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=61&articleid=20110313_211_G1_CUTLIN746470 By JANET PEARSON Associate Editor The economy is showing some modest signs of recovery in Oklahoma, but for a staggering number of Oklahoma families, that’s not the case. In fact, if anything, the consequences of poverty are… Read more [More...]

Tax policy rarely devoid of wedge-driving arguments (Oklahoman)

Original at http://newsok.com/tax-policy-rarely-devoid-of-wedge-driving-arguments/article/3547959 By The Oklahoma Editorial Board A truly “fair” income tax system would assess everyone, rich or poor, at the same level and offer no exemptions or deductions. Public policy is rarely based solely on fairness, though, so… Read more [More...]

New Fact Sheet Shows State Appropriated Spending Is at a Thirty-Year Low

Contact: David Blatt, Director Cell: (918) 859-8747; Office: (918) 794-3944 Oklahoma’s Economy Grows, Spending on Public Services Lags (Tulsa, March 1, 2011): A new fact sheet released today by Oklahoma Policy Institute reveals that the state appropriated budget in relation… Read more [More...]

Fixing the Sales Tax: Options for Reform

Contact: David Blatt, Director Office: (918) 794-3944 dblatt@okpolicy.org New Issue Brief Calls for Fixing Oklahoma’s Sales Tax; Exemptions and Loopholes Are Distorting Economy, Starving Public Services   (Tulsa, February 22):  Reform of Oklahoma’s sales tax is needed to support state and… Read more [More...]

The Oklahoma People to Watch in 2011 (Tulsa World)

by: RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer The five people profiled here may not be household names, but expect that to change. Their roles in government, public policy and community affairs will have wide-ranging impacts in the year ahead. [To see… Read more [More...]

Tulsa-based think tank forecasts state financial woes (Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Original at http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A34476 BY MIKE EASTERLING, Urban Tulsa Weekly  David Blatt, the director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, isn’t trying to convince anyone that the economic analyses his nonprofit, Tulsa-based think tank produces are always going to be spot on.… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Policy Institute state fiscal study projects ‘bleak extended period’ (Tulsa World)

Original at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20101207_16_A12_OKLAHO370531&archive=yes By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau  OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma lawmakers will have $400 million less to spend in the coming fiscal year than they did in the current fiscal year, the director of the Oklahoma Policy… Read more [More...]