Tag: tax cuts

Pay-as-you-go is a promising approach to fiscal responsibility

As Oklahoma’s tax debate unfolds, it has been encouraging to hear a rising chorus of influential voices insist that any tax plan must be revenue neutral. Given deep cuts that state agencies have absorbed in recent years and the long-term… Read more [More...]

Fallin off a cliff

The tax cut plans being pushed by Oklahoma lawmakers contain plenty of bad ideas, but one may eclipse them all: Governor Fallin’s tax cliff. The tax cliff is the result of a badly designed tax bracket structure. Very few other… Read more [More...]

Betting the Farm: Ending the income tax creates huge risks for rural Oklahoma

Could doing away with Oklahoma’s income tax shift taxes not only onto low and middle–income families but also from urban areas to rural areas? Many programs, services, and incentives important for rural Oklahoma rely on our existing revenue structure and… Read more [More...]

Tax Foundation ranks Oklahoma among lowest tax states for business

A new study of state tax costs on business from the Tax Foundation ranks Oklahoma fifth best in the nation for new firms and 16th best for mature firms. Among states in the region, Oklahoma ranked second lowest in business… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Troubling new details on Governor Fallin's tax plan

Oklahoma Policy Institute Director David Blatt released a statement in response to Governor Fallin’s tax plan, which will be heard in a House committee for the first time this afternoon: As details emerge about Governor Fallin’s plan, more problems are… Read more [More...]

What the income tax pays for

The personal income tax is Oklahoma’s largest single revenue source. In 2011, the state collected $2.412 billion from the personal income tax, or slightly less than one in three dollars (31.7 percent) of total state tax collections. With a strong… Read more [More...]

Watch This: The Economy Bowl

Is Texas beating Oklahoma because it lacks an income tax? That’s been a common argument made by proponents of eliminating Oklahoma’s personal income tax. But a new animated video from OK Policy bust the myths about our rivals to the… Read more [More...]

Stuck in a Hole: What flat funding means for the common education budget

After three straight years of budget cuts, funding for public education in Oklahoma is in dire straits.  This year’s appropriation to the Department of Education is $254 million, or 10.0 percent, less than it was in 2009.  In the past… Read more [More...]

No leg left to stand on: Laffer and OCPA debunked again

The push to eliminate Oklahoma’s personal income tax relies heavily for intellectual support on a study done for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs by economist Arthur Laffer and his colleagues. The Laffer report makes two claims: (1) that states… Read more [More...]

State of the State Analysis: Gov. Fallin is playing catch-up

In her State of the State address, Governor Fallin laid out numerous areas where Oklahoma needs to invest to fix serious problems. She mentioned the shortage of troopers on the highways, the millions still owed to local governments to reimburse… Read more [More...]