OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday continued to press the Senate for a tax cut.
The action comes after Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said Thursday the state could not afford to both cut the personal income tax and eliminate the state’s sales tax on groceries. Treat said he prefers to reduce the grocery tax because more Oklahomans will benefit.
Stitt has been advocating for a 0.25% cut to the state’s 4.75% income tax with a pathway toward eliminating it.
Stitt, who supports both an income and grocery sales tax cut, said he will sign whatever bill comes to his desk even if both do.
He said the bills could be on his desk next week. “I think long term my job is to try to grow the state and make us the most business-friendly state,” he said. “I would prefer to have an income tax cut. Get us down to zero.”
The Board of Equalization met Thursday to determine how much money lawmakers will have to craft a budget.
They will have up to $14 billion to spend, or about $1.4 billion more than last year and about $85 million more than the board certified in December, according to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
“We had another growth year in revenue collections for the state,” Stitt said. “That is why it is so important for me to think about — let’s give some of that back to the taxpayer. Let’s do something for the taxpayer.”
Working families are being harmed by inflation, Stitt said.
He said he prefers a grocery tax elimination bill that would include a moratorium to prevent municipalities from increasing their rates to fill the gap.
The Oklahoma House has already indicated a willingness to cut both the income and grocery taxes.
Barbara Hoberock is a senior reporter with Oklahoma Voice. She began her career in journalism in 1989 after graduating from Oklahoma State University. She began with the Claremore Daily Progress and then started working in 1990 for the Tulsa World. She has covered the statehouse since 1994 and served as Tulsa World Capitol Bureau chief. She covers statewide elected officials, the legislature, agencies, state issues, appellate courts and elections.