OKPOLICY.ORG
An overview of our work on Oklahoma Budget and Tax Issues
With an aging population, unfunded pension obligations, and an outdated tax system, Oklahoma will struggle to provide adequate levels of funding for core public services – even without state policies that make the situation more difficult. We promote policies that will ensure adequate, fair, and fiscally responsible funding of public services.
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Featured Articles and Reports
Oklahoma doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a priority problem (Commentary)
For years, the dominant narrative at the Capitol has been that we simply can’t afford to fully fund the things that make communities work — public schools, infrastructure, basic health coverage. We’re told the budget is tight. That tradeoffs are unavoidable. That there just isn’t enough to go around. But that framing falls apart the More...
Eliminating taxes is a trade-off most Oklahoma families can’t afford (Commentary)
The promise sounds simple enough: eliminate taxes and let people keep more of what they earn. No property taxes. No income taxes. No April deadlines. More money in your pocket. But when taxes disappear, everyday life doesn’t stay the same. It changes fast — and the damage is hard to undo. Start with the basics More...
Statement: Oklahomans deserve to see the full budget process, not just the final result
Statement from OK Policy Executive Director Shiloh Kantz: A state budget deal announced on April 1 raises a few eyebrows, but the real concern to Oklahoma taxpayers isn’t the timing — it’s the process. Once again, legislative leaders are keeping Oklahoma’s budget process among the least transparent in the nation. A handful of lawmakers have More...
Replacing property taxes with sales taxes would hurt everyday Oklahomans (Commentary)
This legislative session, property taxes have taken center stage at the Capitol. Lawmakers have filed dozens of proposals to cut, cap, or otherwise restrict property taxes, which help fund public schools and local community services. Yet many of those proposals move forward without clear answers about how communities would make up the lost revenue. Property More...
Oklahoma budget faces $571M shortfall: Low- and middle-income residents will be hit hardest
From OK Policy’s Fiscal Policy Analyst Aanahita Irani Ervin: At February’s Board of Equalization meeting, one urgent fact stood out: Oklahoma is shifting the cost of essential services onto low- and middle-income families. Year-over-year comparisons show the state is experiencing modest state revenue increases. Most of this increase, however, is coming from collecting more sales More...
‘Broadening the Tax Base’ is code for an unfair tax system (Commentary)
Broadening Oklahoma’s tax base sounds like common sense. Put simply, broadening the tax base means increasing the number of people to whom a tax applies, an approach viewed favorably by lawmakers from both political parties. Broadening the tax base is smart tax policy because it spreads responsibility across more people rather than a smaller segment More...
New Report: Oklahoma enacted one of the five biggest tax cuts for millionaires in 2025
Contact: Dave Hamby (Oklahoma Policy Institute) dhamby@okpolicy.org or Jon Whiten (ITEP) jon@itep.org Oklahoma lawmakers this year passed an income tax cut that, when fully implemented, will be one of the nation’s most significant income tax cuts for millionaires, according to a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Gov. Kevin Stitt More...
Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Highlights
Four years of federal surplus propping up Oklahoma's budget is not enough to save the state's budget. For the budget year beginning July 1, 2025 (Fiscal Year 2026), state agencies will have $12.08 billion to spend. More...
A Better Path Forward: A Budget and Tax Roadmap for Oklahoma
A Better Path Forward is a comprehensive report from the Oklahoma Policy Institute detailing how the state cut nearly a quarter of the state’s budget capacity and the implications of those decisions. More...
Budget & Taxes Experts
