Topic: Budget & Tax

Without new revenue, we can expect more of the same problems (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
December 9, 2016 // Updated: May 1, 2019
the same old thinking and disappointing results Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. The way legislators are talking now, the top agenda item for next session will be… Read more [More...]

Trigger Warning: Legislature sets itself up for another ill-timed income tax cut

By: David Blatt
December 8, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This time last year, Oklahoma was in the middle of a massive budget crisis. As revenues came in below projections, the state twice made across-the-board budget cuts that hit our schools, health care, roads, and other key building blocks of our… Read more [More...]

The irresistible forces and the immovable object of the 2017 legislative session (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
November 23, 2016 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. It’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen in the 2017 Legislature. What happens when… Read more [More...]

Budget Trends and Outlook — November 2016

By: David Blatt
November 18, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Download this fact sheet as a pdf. The state continues to face a dire budget outlook Through the first four months of the current fiscal year, General Revenue collections have come in 1.8 percent below the estimate and 8.7 percent… Read more [More...]

Statement: With failure of SQ 779, lawmakers must take responsibility for restoring school funding

By: Gene Perry
November 8, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on the failure of SQ 779, the sales tax increase for education: SQ 779 did not reach majority support even though Oklahomans widely acknowledge that we must improve school funding. The results of this… Read more [More...]

Fact Check: The claim that less than half of SQ 779 revenues will go to teachers is false

By: David Blatt
November 1, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A central claim being made by opponents of State Question 779, the ballot measure that would increase the sales tax by one percentage point to boost funding for education, is that less than half the money will go to raise… Read more [More...]

Reasons for worry and hope in the next Legislature (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
October 21, 2016 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. Thinking about the budget problems facing next year’s Legislature would give anyone a headache. Due… Read more [More...]

Private school tax subsidy blurs the line between charitable gift and money laundering (Guest post: Carl Davis)

By: Guest
October 19, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Carl Davis is Research Director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that works on federal, state, and local tax policy issues. When is a charitable contribution not a “donation” at all?  If a taxpayer… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma becomes a leader at managing volatile revenue (Guest Post: Robert Zahradnik, Jonathan Moody, and Steve Bailey)

By: David Blatt
October 4, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Robert Zahradnik is a director and Steve Bailey and Jon Moody are senior associates with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ states’ fiscal health team. This post originally appeared on the Pew blog and is reposted here with permission. Volatile revenue sources… Read more [More...]

Watch out for wasteful tax giveaways disguised as help for ‘small business’

By: Gene Perry
October 3, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week a press release from Governor Fallin advertised that she was participating in the “Bring Small Businesses Back Bus Tour” when it came to Oklahoma City. This tour is sponsored by the “Job Creators Network”, an association of corporate… Read more [More...]