By:
David Blatt
December 17, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As a result of Oklahoma’s severe budget shortfalls, every state agency and program is absorbing substantial budget cuts that are having a real impact on Oklahoma families and communities. But tax expenditures – the term encompassing the array of exemptions,…
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Well, it happened again. This month Leadership OK (LOK) was in McAlester instead of in Muskogee, but there was something familiar about what we heard and how the class reacted.
Last month, after a presentation by Neal McCaleb, President of…
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By:
Paul Shinn
December 15, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
On January 1st, tax cuts with a revenue impact exceeding $100 million, which include the full repeal of the state’s estate tax and a steep increase in the standard deduction, will take effect in Oklahoma. Do these tax cuts reflect…
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By:
David Blatt
December 10, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As state leaders struggle to find solutions to this year’s revenue shortfalls and funding gaps, it is not too soon to draw lessons from the current state fiscal crisis to design policies that will allow us to respond better the…
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By:
David Blatt
December 8, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As state leaders struggle with how to manage the enormous budget shortfalls the state faces this year and next, the focus is understandably on decisions that must be made over the coming weeks and months. But while short-term challenges are…
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By:
David Blatt
November 23, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
If state fiscal conditions can be likened to the weather, it’s been apparent for many months that Oklahoma is in the midst of a toad strangler of a rain, to borrow the Tulsa World’s colorful characterization. Going into the current…
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By:
David Blatt
November 18, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In Oklahoma, who pays the highest percentage of their income in taxes? Those with the lowest incomes do, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The state’s sales, excise and property taxes, which fall disproportionately on the…
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A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reveals that low and moderate-income Oklahomans pay a greater percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than those with higher incomes.
The full report is available …
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By:
David Blatt
November 12, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
An interesting new report from our friends at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities looks at whether families with income below the federal poverty level (FPL) in each state are subject to state income taxes. It finds that for…
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By:
David Blatt
November 11, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
The latest monthly budget release (PDF) from Treasurer Scott Meacham provided some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that October revenues fell well short of projections, as they have in each month of the current fiscal…
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