Simply Dismal: Budget gap should spur look at improved forecasting

Everyone knew it would be bad. Could we have known it would be this bad?  Nearly one year ago, in February of 2009,  several months after the national economic recession finally hit Oklahoma, the Board of Equalization certified an official… Read more [More...]

This hardly seems like a time to brag, but…

The State Board of Equalization yesterday certified official revenue projections for this year and next. Based on actual revenue collections through November and forecasting data for the next seven months, the various agencies involved in generating the certified estimate are… Read more [More...]

Learning from the Crisis (4): Capping and suspending tax breaks

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,… Read more [More...]

Déjà Vu All Over Again: funding essential services

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… Read more [More...]

Learning from the crisis (3): Putting multi-year revenue commitments on hold

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… Read more [More...]

Learning from the crisis (2): Strengthening our reserve funds

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… Read more [More...]

Learning from the crisis (1): More frequent and better forecasting can help guide a path

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… Read more [More...]

The Rainy Day Fund debate: Not if, but when…and how much?

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… Read more [More...]

Should the poor pay more?

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… Read more [More...]

New Who Pays? Report from ITEP

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 … Read more [More...]