Topic: Tax Breaks & Incentives

Want to reduce Oklahoma’s public services, hurt local business, and shrink our economy? Eliminate the corporate income tax!

Oklahoma’s corporate income tax is good public policy. Forty-four states have corporate income taxes like Oklahoma’s, and all but two of the remaining states tax business revenues. [More...]

No matter how we fund it, Medicaid expansion will be the best investment we’ve ever made

Oklahomans on June 30 approved State Question 802, which amended the Oklahoma Constitution to expand Medicaid to low-income adults. Now it’s time to take the next step in implementing that promise. Funding expansion will be a key issue for the Legislature to tackle this spring. [More...]

More of the Same: Corporate tax avoidance hasn’t changed much under 2017 tax law (Guest Post: Matthew Gardner)

A new report from ITEP shows that, based on the first year of financial reports released by companies operating under the new tax law, tax avoidance appears to be every bit as much of a problem under the new tax system as it was before the 2017 tax law took effect. [More...]

Oklahoma’s spending on senior tax breaks is costly and poorly targeted

Tax breaks for seniors cost Oklahoma an estimated $310 million annually and do little to help the seniors most in need, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. [More...]

End of Session Round-Up: A quiet year in taxes

Thanks to last year's revenue increases and a strong economy, fueled especially by booming oil and gas revenues, lawmakers entered the 2019 session looking at a large budget surplus  It was clear from the start that tax policy would be far less prominent and contentious than in past years. [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...]

Increasing the scholarship tax credit hurts public schools and benefits affluent Oklahomans

Correction 4/1/19: This post has been updated to correct information about the income eligibility for scholarship recipients.  In 2011, the Legislature passed the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act, which grants tax credits to individuals or corporations who make a… Read more [More...]

Bill Watch: Quieter year expected on the tax front

Some of the fiercest battles of recent legislative sessions have centered on tax policy as lawmakers debated competing tax proposals to limit funding cuts and provide teachers a raise. This year, thanks to a strong economy and recent tax increases, the state's budget outlook is greatly improved. Yet even if the stakes are lower, lawmakers still filed hundreds of bills this session that would revise Oklahoma's tax system. [More...]

2019 Priority: End the capital gains tax break

Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here. Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here. Oklahoma law provides for a 100 percent deduction from state income tax of any gains from the sale of… Read more [More...]

The real cost of the capital gains deduction could be much more than $100 million, but we have good options for reform

Oklahoma’s capital gains deduction is the most expensive tax incentive in the state, according to reports from the Oklahoma Tax Commission. In 2015-2016, this deduction cost $105 million, and it led to an estimated $474 million in forgone tax revenues from 2010… Read more [More...]