OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The special session of the Oklahoma legislature is effectively over the same day that it started. Governor Kevin Stitt called for the session for legislators to discuss reducing or eliminating the income tax.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Senate adjourned the session sine die—meaning they adjourned and will not be taking up tax reform.
Earlier today, Governor Stitt held a press conference to discuss his proposal. He pointed to a hefty savings and a $1.2 billion surplus as a reason to lower taxes. He added he would be “ecstatic” if the legislature would even cut taxes by .25%
Legislators had asked Stitt to show up at the Senate committee meeting to answer questions on how he plans to lower taxes without risking funding core services (healthcare, education, etc). He did not show up to the meeting and told reporters that he’s done his part of the job and that it is time for the legislature to act.
Many on Thursday brought up eliminating the grocery tax first as it’s been an idea for years.
“If I could write these bills, we would already have grocery tax eliminated,” said Gov. Stitt. The House and Senate have not been able to come to an agreement. 2News met up with Representative Kevin West who said hesitations on grocery tax have varied depending on which bill you look at.
“I thought the grocery tax would have already been done,” he said and adds that too many bills on one issue become unproductive.
Right now, nine states have eliminated income tax. However, those states may have higher property tax or taxes on goods and services like cigarettes and alcohol.
Democratic Senate Leader Kay Floyd said that they would be happy to consider tax reform if it benefits households earning less than $75,000 a year and doesn’t limit access to core services, but that the Governor’s plan does not meet that criteria.
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