Lawmakers will convene for a special session Monday to discuss cutting the income tax. Low and middle-income Oklahomans will see marginal returns compared to their wealthiest neighbors.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt touts rising inflation, the need for small government, and Oklahoma’s record $1.6 billion in savings in his call for cutting the state income tax by a quarter of a percent and giving all Oklahomans a pay raise.
House Speaker Charles McCall, supports Stitt’s position. Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat told Oklahoma City’s FOX 25 he’ll discuss cutting taxes, but not until the legislature gets its budget report from the Board of Equalization during the regular session in February.
Shiloh Kantz, who leads the center-left think tank Oklahoma Policy Institute, says an income tax cut would only benefit the wealthy.
“A 0.25 tax cut for somebody who earns in the second 20% of income earners will only see $48 a year,” said Kantz.
Meanwhile, those in the top 1% of earners will see a yearly return of about $2,600.
“If we eliminate the personal income tax, that means the people who will do without services and do without resources are the people who can least afford it,” she said.
The state income tax accounts for more than a third of Oklahoma’s General Revenue Fund — about $3.4 billion.
If slashed entirely, the only way to plug that hole is by raising other taxes through a three-quarter majority vote in both legislative chambers or a popular vote during a general election. That’s thanks to Oklahoma voters who passed State Question 640 in 1990.
Kantz points out that has only happened once in three decades.
“You know, we talk about the Oklahoma Standard,” she said. “We are doing the opposite. We gave out $7,500 tax credits for private school attendance. If we had that much zeal and excitement about helping the people who cannot afford to have a place to live or eat, imagine what kind of state we would be.”
