Topic: Tax Fairness

New analysis: Low-income taxpayers in Oklahoma pay more than twice the tax rate paid by the richest Oklahomans

By: Gene Perry
October 17, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
While Oklahoma has a reputation as a low tax state, poor and middle-income Oklahomans are actually paying a greater share of their income in taxes than the national average, while the richest 5 percent of households — with annual incomes… Read more [More...]

How Oklahomans would fare under the Congressional GOP tax plan

By: Gene Perry
November 9, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A new analysis of the Congressional GOP tax plan reveals that in Oklahoma, the wealthiest 1 percent will receive the greatest share of the total tax cut in year one, and their share would grow through 2027. The value of the… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma bill would shed light on who pays taxes

By: David Blatt
February 20, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
In her 2017 State of the State address, Gov. Mary Fallin called for the elimination of the state sales tax on groceries, saying that “this plan eliminates the most regressive tax on the books today.” It’s widely accepted that taxing… Read more [More...]

The tax shift rears its head

By: Gene Perry
February 16, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week the Oklahoma Senate Finance Committee approved SB 977, a bill that would suspend 23 tax credits for the next two years as a way to partially address the state’s massive budget shortfall. While the bill targets numerous credits,… Read more [More...]

Low- and middle-income Oklahomans pay highest state and local taxes

By: Gene Perry
January 14, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and Oklahoma Policy Institute finds that low and middle-income Oklahomans pay over two times more in taxes as a percentage of their income compared to the… Read more [More...]

5 things you should know about Oklahoma taxes

By: Gene Perry
April 15, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s tax day — the annual event when procrastinators, or those who just like to live on the edge, rush to get their tax returns filed before the midnight deadline. If your return is safely filed, or if you just… Read more [More...]

There’s still no free lunch: Impact of massive tax cuts in Kansas offers a warning to Oklahoma

By: Gene Perry
March 27, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As Oklahoma considers tax cuts similar to those that took effect in Kansas last year, a new report shows that following in Kansas’s footsteps is a bad idea.  Kansas’s massive tax cuts have failed to improve the state’s economic performance,… Read more [More...]

Graph of the Day: Tax cut will provide little benefit to most Oklahomans

By: David Blatt
February 13, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The average Oklahoman would get just $29 from Governor Mary Fallin’s proposed income tax cut, while one-quarter of the total benefit would go to the wealthiest 1 percent of households, according to a new analysis prepared by the Institute for… Read more [More...]

Watch This: Debunking Myths About Who Pays Taxes

By: Kate Richey
September 26, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
During the last presidential election, much was made of the fact that nearly half of Americans paid no federal income tax in 2010.  But is it true? A new 4 minute illustrated video from The Urban Institute explains who doesn’t… Read more [More...]

Surprise! States without an income tax have higher sales and property taxes

By: Gene Perry
March 22, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
States without an income tax rely on other taxes to fund government. Far from discovering magical, revenue boosting powers by not having an income tax, these states simply charge higher sales and property taxes. A new report from the Center… Read more [More...]