By:
Paul Shinn
January 30, 2020 // Updated: February 18, 2020
Retired Oklahoma state and local public servants have now gone 10 years without a cost of living adjustment, while inflation has eaten away at their income.
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By:
Guest
December 17, 2019 // Updated: December 17, 2019
A new report from ITEP shows that, based on the first year of financial reports released by companies operating under the new tax law, tax avoidance appears to be every bit as much of a problem under the new tax system as it was before the 2017 tax law took effect.
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The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in America. Despite its effectiveness, one in four Oklahoma households that are eligible for the EITC do not claim the credit. The rules setting out who can claim the credit are extensive and challenging to understand, and as a result many people simply don’t bother. Unfortunately, that means these families are not getting the help they very much need to thrive. If Congress were to simplify the rules around the EITC, they could make this already effective anti-poverty tool even more effective.
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Oklahoma is home to more than 260,000 veterans, and good policy choices like restoring the Oklahoma Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would help them and their communities be economically stable.
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By:
Paul Shinn
September 12, 2019 // Updated: September 12, 2019
In the coming years, state leaders will have to address short-term needs to support programs that improve Oklahomans’ health, safety, careers, and infrastructure, even as they face a growing long-term structural budget deficit.
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By:
Paul Shinn
August 28, 2019 // Updated: September 3, 2019
When the Legislature ended Oklahoma’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refundability in 2016, they reduced an essential tax benefit for over 200,000 Oklahoma families. Prior to that change, if the amount a family received from the EITC was larger than…
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By:
Paul Shinn
July 17, 2019 // Updated: July 18, 2019
Over the past decade, all agencies faced repeated and serious budget cuts, but small agencies were hit hardest, with many seeing their state funding cut by 20 to 50 percent.
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By:
David Blatt
July 10, 2019 // Updated: July 10, 2019
Tax breaks for seniors cost Oklahoma an estimated $310 million annually and do little to help the seniors most in need, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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By:
David Blatt
June 12, 2019 // Updated: June 19, 2019
Thanks to last year's revenue increases and a strong economy, fueled especially by booming oil and gas revenues, lawmakers entered the 2019 session looking at a large budget surplus It was clear from the start that tax policy would be far less prominent and contentious than in past years.
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By:
Gene Perry
June 6, 2019 // Updated: June 7, 2019
For a second year in a row, the budget approved by Oklahoma lawmakers increases funding significantly from the year before. However, for much of state government, there is still a long way to go before Oklahoma restores funding to where…
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