Oklahoma
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ITEP Work in Action February 13, 2023 Oklahoma Policy Institute: The Needs of Everyday Oklahomans Outweigh Tax Cuts that Benefit the Wealthy
As Oklahoma’s 2023 legislative session begins, the perennial push for tax cuts that would shrink state revenue will likely return. In 2022, leaders of the Oklahoma House of Representatives championed tax cuts – primarily… -
ITEP Work in Action February 14, 2022 Oklahoma Policy Institute: Strengthening the Grocery Tax Credit Would Provide Fiscally Smart Tax Relief to Working Oklahomans
Oklahoma can effectively eliminate the state and local sales tax on groceries for most low-income families by strengthening the Sales Tax Relief Credit. At a time when many Oklahomans are… -
ITEP Work in Action October 27, 2021 Oklahoma Policy Institute: A Budget and Tax Roadmap for Oklahoma
A more just tax system will level the playing field for all Oklahomans, providing more opportunity to save and build wealth. It will also benefit the economy, as equal opportunity… -
ITEP Work in Action October 24, 2018 The Journal Record: Prosperity Policy: An Upside-down Tax System
A modestly progressive income tax slightly offsets our regressive sales taxes. But Oklahoma lawmakers cut our top income tax rate by nearly 25 percent since 2004, further tipping the scales to the wealthiest households. Then while grappling with massive budget shortfalls caused in part by these tax cuts, lawmakers took aim at measures that primarily benefit low- and middle-income working families by making the state Earned Income Tax Credit non-refundable and freezing the state standard deduction, while leaving cuts to the top income tax rate in place.
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ITEP Work in Action October 23, 2018 Enid News & Eagle: A Low Tax State for Only Some Oklahomans
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 of $194,500 or more — pay less.
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ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2018 Tulsa World: Political Notebook: Report Says Oklahoma’s State and Local Taxes Among the Most Regressive in the Nation
Oklahoma’s state and local taxes are among the most regressive in the country, according to a report released last week by the Institute on Taxation and Policy.
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ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2018 Oklahoma Policy Institute: New Analysis: Low-income Taxpayers in Oklahoma Pay More than Twice the Tax Rate Paid by the Richest Oklahomans
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 of $194,500 or more — pay less.
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blog October 17, 2018 Low-Tax States Are Often High-Tax for the Poor
ITEP analysis reveals that many states traditionally considered to be “low-tax states” are actually high-tax for their poorest residents. The “low tax” label is typically assigned to states that either lack a personal income tax or that collect a comparatively low amount of tax revenue overall. But a focus on these measures can cause lawmakers to overlook the fact that state tax systems impact different taxpayers in very different ways, and that low-income taxpayers often do not experience these states as being even remotely “low tax.”
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report October 17, 2018 Low Tax for Whom? Oklahoma is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Oklahoma’s tax system has vastly different impacts on taxpayers at different income levels. For instance, the lowest-income 20 percent of Oklahomans contribute 13.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes — considerably more than any other income group in the state. For low-income families, Oklahoma is far from being a low tax state; in fact, it is the fifth highest-tax state in the country for low-income families.
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October 17, 2018 Oklahoma: Who Pays? 6th Edition
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.
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blog October 2, 2018 Twelve States Offer Profitable Tax Shelter to Private School Voucher Donors; IRS Proposal Could Fix This
A proposed IRS regulation would eliminate a tax shelter for private school donors in twelve states by making a commonsense improvement to the federal tax deduction for charitable gifts. For years, some affluent taxpayers who donate to private K-12 school voucher programs have managed to turn a profit by claiming state tax credits and federal tax deductions that, taken together, are worth more than the amount donated. This practice could soon come to an end under the IRS’s broader goal of ending misuse of the charitable deduction by people seeking to dodge the federal SALT deduction cap.
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September 26, 2018 Tax Cuts 2.0 – Oklahoma
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called… -
blog June 26, 2018 Gas Taxes Rise in Seven States, Including an Historic Increase in Oklahoma
A rare sight is coming to Oklahoma. The last time the Sooner State raised its gas tax rate, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and Congress was debating whether to ban smoking on flights shorter than two hours. Fast forward 31 years, and Oklahoma is finally at it again. On Sunday, the state’s gas tax rate will rise by 3 cents and its diesel tax rate by 6 cents. Both taxes will now stand at 19 cents per gallon—still among the lowest in the country. But Oklahoma isn’t the only state where gas taxes will soon rise.
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ITEP Work in Action June 13, 2018 Oklahoma Policy Institute: On Immigration Rhetoric, Consider the Facts
These undocumented Oklahomans currently contribute about $85 million in state and local taxes per year, according to our best estimates. They pay sales tax directly when they purchase goods and… -
ITEP Work in Action June 8, 2018 Oklahoma Policy Institute: To Improve Public Safety and Insurance rates, Allow Undocumented Oklahomans to Drive Legally
Oklahoma’s approximately 95,000 undocumented immigrants are a force in Oklahoma’s economy, accounting for about 1 in 30 members of the workforce and contributing roughly $85 million in state and local… -
blog May 22, 2018 Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019.
State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
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ITEP Work in Action April 9, 2018 Vox: How Tax Cuts for the Rich Led to the Oklahoma Teachers Strike
Before the strike last week, the state legislature tried to avert the work stoppage by passing a $447 million tax increase that effectively gives teachers an average annual pay bump of $6,000. That concession from the state legislature didn’t meet the teachers’ full demands, but it was a huge win considering the state legislature hadn’t approved a tax increase since 1990.
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December 16, 2017 How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Oklahoma Residents’ Federal Taxes
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low-… -
blog December 14, 2017 Private Schools Donors Likely to Win Big from Expanded Loophole in Tax Bill
For years, private schools around the country have been making an unusual pitch to prospective donors: give us your money, and you’ll get so many state and federal tax breaks in return that you may end up turning a profit. Under tax legislation being considered in Congress right now, that pitch is about to become even more persuasive.
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report December 14, 2017 Tax Bill Would Increase Abuse of Charitable Giving Deduction, with Private K-12 Schools as the Biggest Winners
In its rush to pass a major rewrite of the tax code before year’s end, Congress appears likely to enact a “tax reform” that creates, or expands, a significant number of tax loopholes.[1] One such loophole would reward some of the nation’s wealthiest individuals with a strategy for padding their own bank accounts by “donating” to support private K-12 schools. While a similar loophole exists under current law, its size and scope would be dramatically expanded by the legislation working its way through Congress.[2]
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December 6, 2017 How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Oklahoma Residents’ Federal Taxes
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Oklahoma residents.
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blog November 29, 2017 State Rundown 11/29: Thanksgiving Leftovers Edition
The State Rundown is back from Thanksgiving break with a heaping helping of leftover state tax news, but beware, some of it may be rotten.
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November 14, 2017 How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Oklahoma Residents’ Federal Taxes
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Oklahoma, 44 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 6 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
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November 6, 2017 How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Oklahoma Residents’ Federal Taxes
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate tax, become more generous over time. The result is that by 2027, the benefits of the House bill become increasingly generous for the richest one percent compared to other income groups.
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October 4, 2017 GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Oklahoma with 61.7 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Oklahoma equally. The richest one percent of Oklahoma residents would receive 61.7 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $498,400 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $72,150 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 5.5 percent.