Topic: Budget & Tax

New analysis of Oklahoma’s FY 2020 state budget

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… Read more [More...]

FY 2020 Budget Highlights

Without accounting for inflation, next year’s appropriations will be the largest in state history, surpassing the $7.567 billion budget in FY 2019. When adjusted for inflation, next year’s budget remains 10.2 percent below the budget of FY 2009 and 14.9 percent less than the peak year of FY 2007. [More...]

Increased gross production taxes are fueling state’s revenue boom

Strong oil and gas tax collections, due in substantial part to lawmakers’ willingness in 2017 and 2018 to restore the gross production tax to higher rates, are a major contributor to the state’s fiscal health. [More...]

Budget Overview: The rebuilding project continues

Overall, it's best to think of this budget as a second step on what needs to be a long journey. When adjusted for inflation, this budget is still 10.1 percent  below the FY 2009 level. Over half of state agencies still have lower budgets than they did in FY 2009 without accounting for inflation. [More...]

Restoring the EITC is good for Oklahomans’ health

There is a good chance you know someone struggling to make ends meet. People who struggle to pay for health care have higher risks of heart attacks, obesity, and depression. One way to help Oklahomans meet their basic needs and stay healthy is by restoring an effective and bipartisan anti-poverty measure --the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). [More...]

Recent revenue measures have helped Oklahoma’s long-term budget outlook but the work isn’t done

A new research brief prepared by Dr. Kent Olson, Professor of Economics Emeritus at Oklahoma State University, examines the effect that passage of HB 1010xx and other recent revenue measures will have on the state's long-term fiscal outlook. He finds that these revenue measures reduce the state's budget shortfalls over the next decade, but a significant and growing funding gap will remain in the absence of new revenues. [More...]

A day without taxes…

I’ve had it. Why can’t we make society work without taxes? I’m willing to try, I think, as I doze off… [More...]

Restoring the Earned Income Tax Credit is a must this session

In Oklahoma’s tax code, there are multiple tax breaks for high-income individuals and businesses. But just three tax credits are targeted at low-income Oklahomans, and one of those -  the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – was slashed in 2016 to help balance the books during a severe budget crisis. This cut resulted in more than 200,000 Oklahoma families losing some, or all, of the value of their EITC. Statewide, low and middle-income working families lost nearly $28 million due to the cut. That’s an average of $121 per family, and many low-wage families lost even more. [More...]

Too much of a good thing? Exceeding Rainy Day Fund cap would leave critical needs underfunded

Our healthy fiscal outlook provides a great opportunity to build on the progress made last year by making sizeable investments in critical needs that have long gone unmet. However, Governor Kevin Stitt, in his FY 2020 budget blueprint, suggested going in a different direction. The Governor’s approach would tilt the budget too heavily towards savings at the expense of key investments that are urgently needed to promote Oklahoma’s prosperity and well-being. [More...]

Report: Despite gains from teacher walkout, Oklahoma school funding is still way down

For the past five years Oklahoma has led the nation for the largest per-pupil cuts to education funding since the Great Recession, according to an annual report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). This year's report, released today, finds that Oklahoma has finally moved out of the bottom spot in per pupil formula funding cuts thanks to last year’s teacher pay raise funded by the Legislature on the eve of the statewide teacher walkout. However, despite these gains, Oklahoma remains well below pre-Recession levels in per-pupil funding and still has cut more than any state other than Texas. [More...]