By:
Paul Shinn
April 7, 2021 // Updated: April 6, 2021

Lawmakers should set aside both of these bills and have a broader discussion about whether it's more important to broadly cut taxes than to provide public services, invest in our state’s future, save for the next economic downturn, or provide better-targeted tax reduction.
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By:
Paul Shinn
March 19, 2021 // Updated: March 19, 2021

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.
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While there are arguments to pass a vape tax as a public health measure, it would likely be an insufficient and unstable way to fund a public program as crucial to our health as Medicaid.
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By:
Paul Shinn
April 15, 2020 // Updated: March 2, 2021

Contrary to talking points from state boosters, Oklahoma is not a low tax state for all Oklahomans. Our regressive tax system ensures that low-income Oklahomans pay more in taxes, as a share of their income, than high-income taxpayers.
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By:
Guest
December 17, 2019 // Updated: December 17, 2019

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.
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Oklahoma is home to more than 260,000 veterans, and good policy choices like restoring the Oklahoma Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would help them and their communities be economically stable.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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