Topic: Budget & Tax

Guest blog (Tom Daxon): Putting tax expenditures on the right TRACC

By: David Blatt
March 10, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
From time to time, we use the OK Policy blog to post submissions we receive from Oklahomans who have interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. This entry is from Tom Daxon, an Oklahoma City CPA who served… Read more [More...]

Ambidextrous revenue report: One the one hand…on the other hand…

By: David Blatt
March 9, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
The latest state revenue collections announced today provided mixed news: State revenue collections in February exceeded the official estimate for the first time since December 2008, but fell short of prior year collections for the same month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]

From the frying pan to the fire: As FY 10 budget battle re-erupts, the real hard work waits

By: David Blatt
March 2, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Just when it looked as if the the extended negotiations over how to address FY ’10 budget shortfalls were finally resolved, a new wrinkle emerged this week.  As a means to protest the continued failure to find supplemental funds for… Read more [More...]

Energy Stabilization Fund proposal would help avoid wild budget swings

By: David Blatt
February 26, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
House Speaker Chris Benge this week was joined by Republican Senator Patrick Anderson and Democratic Senator John Sparks in unveiling a proposal to create a new budgetary reserve fund to help cushion the state from a repeat of the extreme… Read more [More...]

A balanced approach to the state budget: How are we doing?

By: David Blatt
February 25, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Our friends at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) have put out a new paper addressing the acute fiscal crisis facing states across the nation. As shortfalls reach a level where they are seriously compromising the ability of… Read more [More...]

Aiming at a moving target

By: David Blatt
February 24, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
I posted an entry this morning that compared the mid-year budget cuts being absorbed by each of the ten largest state agencies. Unfortunately, the post – which I’ve now deleted –  included outdated information regarding funding for the Departments of… Read more [More...]

Budget deal (2): Social service agencies shut out of additional funding, again

By: David Blatt
February 22, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
For the second time in less than a month, the Governor and legislative leaders have announced an agreement on how to address the huge shortfalls in this year’s budget caused by declining revenue collections. This second agreement is not much… Read more [More...]

Will the brakes be put on tax breaks?

By: David Blatt
February 18, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
There is definitely something in the air. Over the past several weeks, there has been a heavy flurry of attention paid to the state’s system of tax expenditures, the array of over 450 exemptions, credits, deductions and the like that… Read more [More...]

Revised revenue certification – budget gaps smaller but still perilous

By: David Blatt
February 16, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
This morning, the State Board of Equalization will meet to certify the revised FY ’11 revenue estimates (we’ve posted the certification packet to our website). The February certification is binding on the Legislature as it develops the FY ’11 budget… Read more [More...]

Forecasting legislation would provide better early warning signals

By: David Blatt
February 15, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Earlier this year, we put out an issue brief and blog post that identified the need for better budget forecasting as one of the lessons that should be learned from the state’s current budget woes to avoid crises of similar… Read more [More...]