Category: Media Coverage

Good info (The Oklahoman)

By The Oklahoman Editorial Board For those who want to understand how Oklahoma’s legislative process works, the Oklahoma Policy Institute has released its latest Oklahoma Legislative Primer. The primer (https://okpolicy.org/resources/2015-oklahoma-legislative-primer) gives information on the composition of the Legislature and executive… Read more [More...]

Lawmakers Unlikely to Cut Business Tax Breaks to Boost FY2016 Budget (KWGS)

By Matt Trotter Although Oklahoma faces a $300 million budget shortfall for next fiscal year, don’t expect lawmakers to slash business tax incentives to close the gap. Budget summit panelists this week said it’s unrealistic to think the legislature will… Read more [More...]

Anti-Gay Legislation Could Hurt the State’s Economy in the Long Run (KWGS)

By Matt Trotter A flurry of anti-gay legislation could damage Oklahoma’s chances of attracting top companies to the state. Oklahoma College of Business Dean Mickey Hepner said large companies employ diverse work forces and have an eye on social policies… Read more [More...]

Summit Paints Bleaker Picture of State Budget (KWGS)

By Matt Trotter Despite some signs of recovery, Oklahoma’s budget struggles look set to continue for the foreseeable future. “The budget challenges that we are facing this year in 2015, and looking ahead to 2016, are not one-off problems,” said… Read more [More...]

It’s Folly to Ignore Tax Impact on Drilling in Oklahoma (The Oklahoman)

By The Oklahoman Editorial Board THE left-leaning Oklahoma Policy Institute would have us believe all that’s needed to provide huge increases in school funding is a tax increase on energy producers. But the assumptions built into the institute’s estimates are… Read more [More...]

This Week in Oklahoma Politics: State of the Union, Medicaid Expansion & Teacher Pay (KOSU)

In This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU’s Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and, sitting in for Ryan Kiesel, Oklahoma Policy Institute Executive Director David Blatt. The trio discusses the President’s State of the Union Address, the… Read more [More...]

Report Shows Low- and Middle-Income Oklahomans Pay Highest State and Local Taxes (Norman Transcript)

A new study released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and Oklahoma Policy Institute finds that low- and middle-income Oklahomans pay more than two times more in taxes as a percentage of their income compared to the… Read more [More...]

This Week in the Laboratories of Democracy (Esquire)

By Charles P. Pierce Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what’s goin’ down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin’ gets done, and where, for certain, you will truly be a’hurtin’. Things are revved… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Has the 16th Most Unfair State and Local Sales Tax System, Report Says (Tulsa World)

By Barbara Hoberock Oklahoma has the 16th most unfair state and local tax system in the country, says a report released Wednesday. In Oklahoma, the bottom 80 percent of taxpayers are paying between 8.6 percent and 10.5 percent of their… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s Tax System Called “Unfair”

By Marshall Stewart Results from a new study claim Oklahoma’s tax system is unfair to the great majority of its’ citizens. The report, from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, finds low and middle-income Oklahomans pay over two times… Read more [More...]