3.18.24 – OKLAHOMA COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR)
House members rallied around several bills aimed at reducing the income tax for Oklahomans. An idea that Governor Kevin Stitt has said he would sign if it came to his desk.
“It’s our path to zero,” said Governor Stitt.
The biggest push seems to come from House Bill 2950 which is headed by House Speaker Charles McCall. It does several things, one is aimed at replacing the bracket system for personal income tax with a 4.75 percent flat tax beginning the tax year 2025.
“The money doesn’t disappear, I feel like that’s what people don’t understand,” said Stitt during his Friday presser. “The money stays in your pockets, the taxpayers, and not the government.”
“If the governor wants to make a daring move or a fundamental change I would challenge him to propose a tax cut when we are actually in a deficit, that’s bold,” said Minority Leader Andy Fugate who has argued before that getting rid of the income tax could put the burden on Oklahomans later.
HB 2950 also proposes that when the state has an exceeded revenue of $ 400 million then Oklahomans would receive a .25% income tax cut.
When the tax rate has been reduced to 3 percent, the rate would be reduced by three-tenths of a point each year until the rate is zero and the personal income tax is completely phased out.
“This really does help lower-income Oklahomans everywhere,” said Governor Stitt.
These are all in line with what Governor Sitt has discussed before, the “Path to Zero.”
Governor Stitt and the House, under Speaker McCall, have remained focused on reforming Oklahoma’s income tax in recent years.
State Rep. Fugate, D-Oklahoma City, said the elimination of personal income tax would leave Oklahoma state government dependent primarily on consumption taxes, which he said “decline precipitously anytime we have a recession or some kind of downturn in the economy.”
The bill now goes before the Senate but Governor Stitt has said if income tax reduction bills hit his desk he will sign them.