October 17, 2018

Oklahoma: Who Pays? 6th Edition

OKLAHOMA

OKLAHOMA STATE AND LOCAL TAXES

Taxes as Share of Family Income

					Top 20%
Income Group	Lowest 20%	Second 20%	Middle 20%	Fourth 20%	Next 15%	Next 4%	Top 1%
Income Range	Less than $19,700	$19,700 to $34,500	$34,500 to $56,100	$56,100 to $89,100	$89,100 to $194,500	$194,500 to $455,600	over $455,600
Average Income	$12,000	$26,100	$43,700	$71,800	$127,900	$278,600	$1,135,300
Sales & Excise Taxes	9.2%	7.7%	6.5%	5.0%	3.6%	2.3%	1.2%
General Sales – Individuals	5.0%	4.5%	3.8%	3.1%	2.4%	1.5%	0.8%
Other Sales & Excise – Ind.	2.2%	1.4%	1.0%	0.6%	0.4%	0.2%	0.1%
Sales & Excise on Business	1.9%	1.9%	1.7%	1.2%	0.9%	0.5%	0.3%
Property Taxes	3.9%	2.3%	2.1%	1.9%	1.8%	1.8%	1.4%
Home, Rent, Car – Ind.	3.8%	2.3%	2.1%	1.8%	1.7%	1.5%	0.6%
Other Property Taxes	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.3%	0.8%
Income Taxes	0.2%	1.2%	2.0%	2.9%	3.2%	3.3%	3.6%
Personal Income Tax	0.1%	1.2%	2.0%	2.9%	3.2%	3.3%	3.4%
Corporate Income Tax	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%
TOTAL TAXES	13.2%	11.2%	10.7%	9.8%	8.6%	7.4%	6.2%

Individual figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. Download the table

TAX FEATURES DRIVING THE DATA in Oklahoma

Progressive Features	Regressive Features
Graduated personal income tax structure, but essentially flat since the top rate starts at $12,000 Provides an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Provides a refundable tax credit to reduce the impact of its sales tax on groceries	Comparatively low, non-refundable EITC State sales tax base includes groceries Local sales tax bases include groceries Comparatively high combined state and local sales tax rate Fails to provide a property tax “circuit breaker” credit for low-income, non-elderly taxpayers Fails to use combined reporting as part of its corporate income tax Does not levy a tax on estates or inheritances

Progressive Features

Regressive Features

Graduated personal income tax structure, but essentially flat since the top rate starts at $12,000
Provides an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Provides a refundable tax credit to reduce the impact of its sales tax on groceries

Comparatively low, non-refundable EITC
State sales tax base includes groceries
Local sales tax bases include groceries
Comparatively high combined state and local sales tax rate
Fails to provide a property tax “circuit breaker” credit for low-income, non-elderly taxpayers
Fails to use combined reporting as part of its corporate income tax
Does not levy a tax on estates or inheritances

ITEP Tax Inequality Index

According to ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index, which measures the impact of each state’s tax system on income inequality, Oklahoma has the 9th most unfair state and local tax system in the country. Incomes are more unequal in Oklahoma after state and local taxes are collected than before. (See Appendix B for state-by-state rankings and the methodology section for additional detail on the index.)

Note: Figures show permanent law in Oklahoma enacted through September 10, 2018, at 2015 income levels. Top figure represents total state and local taxes as a share of non-elderly income. The sixth edition of Who Pays does not include the impact of the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) because policy changes in the 2017 federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act temporarily limited the extent to which the SALT deduction functions as a generalized offset of state and local taxes.