Tax Cut Talking Points

Why Tax Cuts Are Not the Right Priority for Oklahoma

• Eliminating the income tax is fiscally reckless. Once we decide to cut taxes, we cannot reverse course if things don’t work out. Credit rating and municipal bond agencies have expressed strong concerns about proposals to eliminate the income tax.
• At a time of falling natural gas prices and economic uncertainty, we need to be especially cautious about any action that could lead to further shortfalls.
• It is bad policy to enact a trigger mechansim that would automatically cut taxes in future years. These proposals would prevent the legislature from responding to the future needs we may have as a state or emergencies that may arise.
• It’s not right to drastically cut or eliminate our single largest revenue source when we have failed to meet our commitments to the people of Oklahoma.  Our children’s class sizes are larger than they have been in years, our roads and bridges are crumbling, our prisons are overcrowded,  higher education tuition continues to escalate, and we’re not serving many with mental illness and disabilities who need care and treatment.
• It just doesn’t add up to believe that we can eliminate our single largest revenue source without slashing services or increasing other taxes.  The idea that tax cuts will pay for themselves defies common sense and economic research.
• States without an income tax all have higher property taxes, and Texas’ property tax is three times higher than Oklahoma’s.
• Eliminating the income tax is unnecessary at a time when Oklahoma’s economy is performing better than most states, including the majority of states without an income tax. 
•  Cutting the income tax will make Oklahoma less attractive to business by ensuring that our education system, infrastructure, health services and public safety are underfunded.
• It’s not fair to cut the top income tax rate while doing away with the child tax credit, sales tax relief credit and other broad based tax preferences.  Our legislators would be asking low and middle class families to shoulder an increased burden at a time when many are already struggling.

What You Can Do Today

1. Get Informed. Resources to learn more about the income tax debate are freely available athttps://okpolicy.org/take-action

2. Contact Elected Officials. CLICK HERE for information on who to contact and how to reach them to have an impact on decisions.