Topic: Budget & Tax

Statement: Lawmakers have not risen to the challenge of a historic budget shortfall

By: Gene Perry
May 24, 2016 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to the state budget deal announced by lawmakers: Lawmakers have not risen to the challenge of a historic budget shortfall. While this budget deal may prevent further cuts to common education… Read more [More...]

What happened with the tax increase on cigarettes? (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
May 23, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 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. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

Statement on votes to end “double deduction” and slash Earned Income Tax Credit

By: Gene Perry
May 20, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute issued the following statement in response to the House of Representatives giving final passage to SB 1604, which makes the state Earned Income Tax Credit non-refundable, and SB 1606, which ends the “double deduction”: The legislators who… Read more [More...]

Statement: Oklahoma has a responsible solution to tobacco tax standoff

By: Gene Perry
May 19, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to the standoff in the Legislature over a tobacco tax increase: Accepting available federal dollars for health care and rolling back an income tax cut that should not be happening in… Read more [More...]

The effects of budget cuts on Oklahoma prisons are hidden but dangerous

By: Ryan Gentzler
// Updated: June 17, 2019
No state agency has escaped budget cuts unscathed. For many Oklahomans, the effects are most visible in their schools and communities, as their children lose teachers and their friends and neighbors lose needed health care services. Less visible is the… Read more [More...]

Revenue options still on the table could avert budget catastrophe

By: David Blatt
May 18, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
With less than two weeks until the end of the Legislative session, there’s still no agreement on the state budget. The stakes are exceptionally high: unless legislators agree on ways to close the budget gap, deep cuts are certain to… Read more [More...]

Budget cuts put unbalanced burden on places of worship (Guest Post: Dr. Mitch Randall)

By: Guest
May 16, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Dr. Mitch Randall is the Senior Pastor at NorthHaven Church in Norman. These are his remarks from a recent press conference urging lawmakers not to reduce or eliminate tax credits that benefit low-income Oklahomans. You can read the letter in… Read more [More...]

‘The fat is in the fire’ (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
May 13, 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. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

New bill would devastate a key tax credit for Oklahoma working families

By: Gene Perry
May 12, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Yesterday, a letter signed by more than 150 Oklahoma clergy was delivered to lawmakers and Governor Fallin, urging them not to slash key tax credits for working families to fix the state’s revenue problems. They were joined by numerous non-profit… Read more [More...]

New video and tools to save tax credits for working families

By: Gene Perry
May 11, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
[youtube id=”sN__TaZClHo” mode=”normal”] Today more than 140 religious leaders and over two dozen non-profit organizations and foundations are speaking out against state budget plans that threaten tax credits for hundreds of thousands of working families and seniors. Clergy from across… Read more [More...]