Revenue report reveals rocky road

Last week, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) announced monthly General Revenue (GR) collections for June, bringing Fiscal Year 2013 to a close. While Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger’s candid assessment of plunging gross production revenues grabbed the headlines,… Read more [More...]

“How Money Walks” has no leg to stand on

During the debate over Oklahoma’s most recent income tax cut, one House lawmaker speaking in favor of the bill waved a book in the air that he said showed why cutting taxes further would help Oklahoma’s economy. The book was… Read more [More...]

After talk of reining in tax breaks, Oklahoma added more

Even as Governor Fallin and legislative leaders were patting themselves on the back for this year’s legislative session, one Republican lawmaker sounded a discordant note. Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, awarded the session a “C-minus at best,” saying it was… Read more [More...]

FY 2014 Budget Highlights

OK Policy’s annual Budget Highlights issue brief is one of the most informative and accessible ways to track Oklahoma’s public spending. Read more... [More...]

April Fools? Strong revenue growth may reflect one-time tax changes

Last week’s announcement of April General Revenue (GR) collections seemed to signal great news for the state.  Revenues were up almost $90 million, or 14.7 percent, from the same month a year ago and exceeded the estimate by 15.1 percent.… Read more [More...]

Silver linings tax cuts

Note: A version of this post appeared in the Journal Record After two years of effort, Governor Fallin and legislative leaders finally succeeded in cutting Oklahoma’s top income tax rate. For those who have been actively opposing tax cuts as… Read more [More...]

What you need to know about the state budget agreement

Last week, Governor Fallin and legislative leaders announced a state budget deal for 2014 that is being considered by the Legislature as HB 2301. Here’s what you need to know. In real dollars, appropriations remain significantly below pre-recession years Although… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Tax cut ignores economic reality

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on the Legislature’s passage of the tax cut and Capitol renovation bill, HB 2032: The Legislature’s approval of another tax cut ignores economic reality. Because they were under pressure to restore funding to… Read more [More...]

Court’s tax ruling could have seismic impact on state budget

As legislators consider a final vote on a tax cut that would ultimately reduce state revenues by over $230 million, the state could be facing unexpected liabilities in the hundreds of millions of dollars due to a court case challenging… Read more [More...]

Poll shows Oklahomans oppose tax cut plan after hearing the facts

The final House vote on the tax cut bill will likely happen tomorrow. Click here to contact lawmakers and speak out. A new poll commissioned by OK Policy shows that a strong majority of Oklahomans oppose a plan to cut… Read more [More...]