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...]

State Question 800: New Reserve Fund for Oil and Gas Revenue

State Question 800 will be on the ballot on November 6, 2018. Download this fact sheet as a PDF or download all five State Questions as a single PDF. Visit our 2018 State Questions and Elections page for more information on Oklahoma ballot measures and elections. … Read more [More...]

2018 Policy Priority: End oil and gas tax breaks

See the full list of our 2018 policy priorities. Download this fact sheet as a PDF. Background Oklahoma’s historical tax rate on oil and gas drilling is 7 percent, but a special tax break gives the industry a 2 percent… Read more [More...]

Reality Check: Restoring Oklahoma’s Gross Production Tax won’t hurt the economy

In a recent editorial, The Oklahoman newspaper accused critics of Oklahoma’s huge tax breaks for the oil and gas industry of ignoring reality. They wrote that the claim that oil and gas companies pay far less taxes in Oklahoma than… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s wind subsidies are dwarfed by subsidies to the oil and gas industry

One certainty about the 2017 legislative session is that tax breaks for the wind industry are going to be a prime target for lawmakers looking for ways to address the state’s short-term budget gap and long-term structural budget deficit. Close… Read more [More...]

Should Oklahoma put a tax on carbon?

Derek Wietelman is an OK Policy summer intern. He is an Oklahoma State University student pursuing a double major in statistics and political science, with minors in economics and environmental economics, politics, and policy. Last May, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse… Read more [More...]

The wind energy debate comes sweeping down to the Capitol

Editor’s Note: Wind power is a growing source of energy production in Oklahoma that is drawing close scrutiny at the state Capitol. Is wind production beneficial to Oklahoma’s economy and communities? Should the state continue to provide the industry with… Read more [More...]

What the horizontal drilling tax break is costing your kids’ school

For Oklahoma’s elected officials looking to increase funding for education, the sensible solution can be found right under our feet. By doing away with what has become an increasingly unnecessary and unaffordable tax break, every school district and every school… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s gas tax needs a tune-up

In 1987, the median family made $21,691. Today they make more than twice as much. In 1987, the average gas price was $1 a gallon; today it is nearly $3. In that year, the Oklahoma Gazette voted Remington Park Race… Read more [More...]

The incredible disappearing gross production tax

With all the attention last legislative session on the failed attempt to do away with the state personal income tax, a potentially bigger story seems to have escaped most people’s notice: the effective disappearance of the gross production tax. This… Read more [More...]