Despite Oklahoma’s $1.3 billion budget gap, there’s a law on the books that may trigger additional state income tax cuts in January of 2018. While the income tax rate currently sits at 5 percent, after the automatic trigger the rate would drop to 4.85 percent,reports KGOU. Republican Senator Ron Sharp didn’t mince words: “We have to get rid of that trigger,” he said, adding, “It would be a disaster.”
State Treasurer Ken Miller agreed, saying tax cut triggers make no economic sense. State agencies and services have been reeling from budget cuts and layoffs since the bottom fell out of the oil industry, sending the state economy into a tailspin. After two revenue failures, state agencies chopped seven percent from their budget mid-year. Higher education took a 16 percent cut. And Oklahoma public school teachers did not receive a pay raise and continue to be among the lowest-paid in the country.
Further slashing revenue would only worsen these issues.
