Latest news with #OklahomaTaxCommission
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma governor signs income tax cut deal: What to know
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed an income tax cut into law, accomplishing his main goal of the legislative session with days to spare. The quarter-point cut will reduce Oklahoma's income tax rate to 4.5% for most earners, while costing the state between $160 million and $300 million a year in lost revenue, according to varying estimates. Stitt has long pressed for reducing income taxes and reached a deal this year with the Republican-led Legislature to make it happen. The agreement includes a consolidation of income tax brackets and what Stitt has described as a "path to zero" income tax, with triggers meant to further reduce the tax rate in future years. While Stitt had opened the Legislative session in February by calling for a steeper half-point tax cut, he has still seemed pleased with landing a quarter-point cut. Talking about the tax cut deal during a news conference on Wednesday, May 28, Stitt said it would "automatically trigger tax cuts, not in an irresponsible way, but with excess revenue, we'll be able to trigger tax cuts and put us on a path to zero." The specifics of the cut are spelled out in House Bill 2764, which Stitt signed on Wednesday. By law, the Legislature has until Friday to finish its regular session business. Critics have questioned whether lawmakers should reduce tax collections — and also dip into savings to cover some line items in the state's nearly $12.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year — at a time of economic uncertainty. More: Gov. Stitt, legislative leaders announce budget deal including tax cuts, tort reforms According to an analysis by the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a nonpartisan Tulsa-based think tank, cutting income taxes by a quarter of a percentage point would reduce state revenues by $306 million annually. The group's analysis also showed many Oklahomans stand to save only marginal amount on their annual income tax bill. A quarter-point cut could save people who make $79,700 or less between $9 and $95, and would save those in the top 1% of incomes — making $683,500 or more — $2,936 annually, the group found. Stitt has said the cut will help out struggling families and cost the state about $160 million in lost revenue during the next fiscal year, citing Oklahoma Tax Commission numbers. Stitt has maintained because that money is spent by taxpayers, not state government, it's better for the economy. The tax cut bill passed by margins of 74-19 in the House and 34-11 in the Senate, largely along party lines. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signs income tax cut bill: What you should know
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lifting cap on Oklahoma's School Choice Tax Credit could have high cost
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The conversation about no cap on Oklahoma's School Choice Tax Credit could come at a cost after another state implemented a similar measure. Several bills related to the Parental Choice Tax Credit program we discussed this legislative session. However, lawmakers voiced concern that there are close to none that serve to provide accountability or oversight. The program was billed, in large part, as a way to help low-income families get their kids the best education possible, but new state data showed a major share of its funds went to the state's wealthiest families that participated. The data from the Oklahoma Tax Commission showed Oklahoma paid out $91.7 million to families taking part in the Parental Choice Tax Credit system. The cap is a tiered system; the credits are capped at $200 million for the current school year and will be $250 million for 2026. Governor Kevin Stitt has voiced his support to remove the cap altogether. Several lawmakers voiced concern about removing the cap as there have been examples of that causing concern. Arizona has a school-choice program where they removed the cap and it caused problems according to the latest data. A non-partisan think-tank group, the Grand Canyon Institute (GCI), conducted research regarding their program. A report released by GCI over the summer last year looked at the net cost of Arizona's school choice program. The report aimed to find the costs or savings the state was taking on because of the program. Research director Dave Wells said the school choice program in Arizona contributed to the budget deficit, adding a whole new cost to the state. Governor Stitt calls to extend the cap on Parental Choice Tax Credit 'We're taking a whole bunch of children who were never going to be in a public district or charter school and now we're subsidizing them,' Wells explained. 'What these programs do is they primarily seem to elevate the needs of higher-income parents over the needs of lower-income parents.' Representative Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) is the author of a bill that is expected to be voted on come Friday that is one of the only ones that has some accountability on the tax credit program. Her bill HB 1396 would essentially not require parents to sign up for the program if they are enrolling in a private school. Before it came to the floor, it did have a restriction where schools couldn't raise their tuition just because of the program. That was taken out in committee. 'Just like in Arizona, if we take the cap off of how much we're willing to spend each year, we're going to put ourselves in a financial crisis. And so I'm very concerned about that,' said Rep. Provenzano. The money from the Oklahoma program was divided among families based on their income. A $27.1 million portion, about 30%, went to families making below $75,000 a year. According to census data, the average household income from last year totaled just over $63,000. A nearly equal amount, $26.3 million, went to families making between $75,000 and $150,000. Governor Stitt was asked about removing the cap and was presented the issues Arizona has seen, but he didn't answer the concerns. He did comment later during his Wednesday presser on a push towards slightly more privatized education programs. 'If we can do what I think we're able to do on education with our free market approach, with our, you know, more charter schools, more Christian schools, more Catholic schools, more options for parents,' said Gov. Stitt. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kevin Stitt champions school choice at inaugural Oklahoma Charter Schools Conference
Dozens of Oklahoma charter schools stakeholders heard Gov. Kevin Stitt during a conference on Friday champion school choice and emphasize the role quality education plays in the state's economic success. The governor addressed a group of charter school administrators, board members and authorizers on Friday during the second day of the inaugural Oklahoma Charter Schools Conference. He called education the driver of innovation, and the key to securing the American dream for the next generation. "For decades, education in America was a system that prioritized bureaucracy over students. Well, not anymore," Stitt said. "You guys are leading the way in that we believe in parents having the power to make decisions about their child's education. A ZIP code should never determine a child's destiny." Stitt touted the state's Parental Tax Credit program that nearly 8,000 Oklahoma families took advantage of for spring 2025. The program was approved by legislators in 2023, and was officially launched that December. Under the program, any family whose children attend private schools can claim between $5,000 and $7,500 annually, with priority given to families with household incomes of $150,000 or less. "Rich people already have school choice," Stitt said. "They can send their kids anywhere they want. Now, every single family in Oklahoma has the ability to do the exact same thing." More: Over 5,000 Oklahoma City Public Schools students doubled their projected growth in reading A mandated report released by the Oklahoma Tax Commission revealed that about 21% of the tax credits issued as part of the program for spring 2025 went to families making more than $250,000. During the conference, the governor criticized Tulsa Public Schools' decision to close its campuses for over 300 days during the height of COVID-19. "These parents would tell me, they would say, 'Governor, it is not fair. I'm in Tulsa Public Schools, and my son, or my daughter, is not learning how to read right now on Zoom. We don't have good internet connection at the house. I have to go to work during the day,'" Stitt said. These conversations struck a nerve, Stitt said, which is why he wanted open transfers. The Education Open Transfers Act went into effect in 2022, which took a month-long open transfer window that occurred in the summer and stretched to the entire calendar year. During the 2021-22 school year, 59,755 Oklahoma students were enrolled in charter schools, according to a report by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. That's down nearly 27% from the previous academic year, but a massive increase from 6,923 students in 2011. Stitt referenced a 2023 study from Harvard University, which ranked Oklahoma No. 6 among 36 states for the academic success of its charter schools, according to test score data from 2009 to 2019. "You don't have the ability to bond like the public schools. Some of your facilities aren't quite as nice as the public schools. We're trying to narrow that gap for you in our Legislature," Stitt said. "If you know a Senate or a House member, I'll give you a whole list of things and call them to tell them to do OK? That's one of them." "I believe that rising tides lift all boats. Charter schools and private schools are not a threat to public education. They actually encourage competition." The governor also boasted the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear arguments on April 30 over a legal case that could lead to the establishment of the nation's first religious online charter school, based in Oklahoma. In January, the court consolidated two petitions that had been filed, one by the Statewide Charter School Board and one by St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled last year that the board's predecessor must rescind its contract with St. Isidore due to constitutional issues. "Why does the government stand in the way to say that I can't put my faith in my children?" Stitt said. "I mean, it's just common sense. It's religious freedoms. Don't let people spin you into thinking this is somehow a controversial issue, because government should not stand in the way of businesses or excluding any kind of religious organizations from public programs just because they're faith based." To close his speech, Stitt said the state is fighting for ensuring that every child has the best shot at success, and thanked the charter schools stakeholders for their work. "If we continue down this path, expanding choice, driving innovation and putting parents in the driver's seat, Oklahoma will be the model for the entire nation," Stitt said. "We'll be the state where students are thriving, where businesses are flourishing and the American dream is alive and well." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Kevin Stitt champions school choice at charter schools conference
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Data reveals Oklahoma school choice program sending significant share of funds to wealthiest families
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma's school choice program was billed, in large part, as a way to help low-income families get their kids the best education possible, but new state data shows a major share of its funds are going to the state's wealthiest families, while the share going to families making below the average income remains unclear. Now, some lawmakers say something has to of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program advertised it as being built on a promise: to allow families who couldn't otherwise afford it, to send their kids to private schools. 'It would never have passed' Some Oklahoma lawmakers say private school tax credit system not operating as expected 'Now we're gonna put the parents back in charge,' Governor Kevin Stitt said when advocating for the program in 2023.'This is an every kid wins policy and funding plan,' then-Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) said about the program in 2023.'Every parent should be able to make any decision they want with their kid,' Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters said at a rally advocating for 'school choice' policies in also claimed it could be funded without hurting public schools.'We're not pulling money from the appropriated funds for public education,' McCall said in new data from the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) has some questioning whether the program is living up to its promise.'It's sort of school choice for thee but not for me,' said State Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa).'We're going to see this hurt the state's economy,' former Republican State Rep. Mark McBride data shows Oklahoma paid out $91.7 million to families taking part in the Parental Choice Tax Credit system. Parental Choice Tax Credit used to pay off debts before tuition That money was divided among families based on their income.A $27.1 million portion, about 30%, went to families making below $75,000 a year.A nearly equal amount, $26.3 million, went to families making between $75,000 and $150, $15.7 million, or 17%, went to families making between $150,000 and $225, about a fourth of the money, $22.6 million, went to the wealthiest families, those making more than $225,000 a year. That concerns Provenzano. 'When you're saying school choice for all, what do you mean?' Provenzano said. 'And what we've discovered is overwhelmingly… tax credits went to families that are already attending private school.' It also stood out to McBride, who was one of several Republicans who voted in favor of the tax credit, in order to pass a large public school funding bill alongside it.'I had people come to my office and they talk to me and it was always wealthy people or for profit groups,' McBride said. 'I always had a problem with that. I said, bring me somebody that makes household income less than $60,000 a year or $50,000 a year, because they kept saying when they when they would talk to me, that's what we're trying to help out.' Governor Stitt addressed concerns about the program at a press conference on Wednesday.'It's working like we wanted it,' Stitt said. 'I mean, the fact is we've got we've got people using it.' He pointed out the majority of funds did not go to the richest families.'79% went to working families,' Stitt is true that 79% of the money went to families making below $250,000 a a majority of that amount, about 65% of it, went to families making above $75, median income is around $60,000. It is unclear how much of the money went to families making at or below the median income, as the OTC did not release that data.'They set up these income bands of who gets access to these private schools through this credit,' Provenzano said. 'And the first band is $0 to $75,000. That really doesn't demonstrate accurately for our families that may fall below the poverty line — are they getting access?'Tim Gilpin, a former Oklahoma State School Board member, said the numbers were not surprising. 'This deal is getting worse all the time,' Lawmakers say administering Parental Choice Tax Credit costing more than expected 'It's no surprise that there isn't a voucher or a credit big enough so that someone, a middle-class or lower-economic-means family could pay private school tuition,' Gilpin said. He said the legislature could amend the bill to address the concerns. 'I think a good change would be to lower the income level of anyone who can apply for it,' Gilpin said.'Let's just say, okay, if you make $60,000 or lower, you get the tax credit,' McBride said. 'If you make above that, you don't.' Getting any changes past the governor could be difficult. Tulsa World: State looking to claw back millions in private school tax credit paid to families who didn't qualify Stitt is pushing to lift the financial cap on the program, and expand something Provenzano and McBride say has not worked out well in other states.'They tried that in Arizona. It was a train wreck. It led to a revenue shortfall,' Provenzano said.'They got a $1.4 billion deficit and most of that is due to their voucher system,' McBride said.'And the question is, is that a responsible thing to do in a in a fiscal year like this?' Provenzano said. California company to earn nearly $4M for Parental Choice Tax Credit web portal Gilpin said lifting the cap would come at a cost: the state's public school system.'You would drain the state budget,' Gilpin said. 'Our state's already strapped for public school funds, and it can't be responsible for public policy means because that is the elimination of our public school system. We're going to create—and have created—a two-tier class system where there are those of us who can already afford to put our kids in a school of choice, a private school, and those of us who can't.'News 4 reached out to Governor Stitt's Office with specific questions about the program, but no one responded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Report shows $19.3M in Oklahoma's private-school tax credits went to wealthier households
A mandated report released by the Oklahoma Tax Commission with little fanfare shows that about 21% of the tax credits issued as part of the Parental Choice Tax Credit program for spring 2025 went to families making more than $250,000. The report, dated Jan. 14, noted 7,723 such families received up to a $5,000 credit, the maximum for that income level, for a total of $19.3 million of taxpayer money. By contrast, Oklahoma families with an income of $75,000 or lower received $27.1 million. The report said 8,116 families in that category received credits of up to $7,500. A total of $91.7 million in tax credits were awarded, less than the cap of $100 million. Legislators approved the program in 2023 and it was officially launched that December. Under the program, any family whose children attend private schools can claim between $5,000 and $7,500 annually, with priority given to families with household incomes of $150,000 or less. Online news outlet Oklahoma Voice was the first to report on the tax credit findings. Since its implementation, the program has been plagued with issues, ranging from lax oversight of accreditors of private schools to tax credits instead being used to pay recipients' debt, among others. Critics have said the program takes away money that could otherwise be spent on public school and gives it to parents who already can afford to send their children to private schools. 'Private school vouchers are just an un-Christian scam to de-fund our public schools,' state Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, posted on X. Added state Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, on Bluesky: 'The Oklahoma Parent Choice Tax Credit has been fraught with error since inception.' The Tulsa World reported earlier this month the Tax Commission chose to end its agreement with Merit International, a vendor that had administered the program during its first year. The World also reported the state agency now is trying to claw back $5 million from 1,855 Oklahoma taxpayers the Tax Commission believes had students who didn't attend an approved private school for the entire period for which it approved the tax credit. Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said the tax commission has done a great job implementing the program as designed. He said he filed several bills to help streamline the process and figure out how to make it better. He said the discrepancy in numbers came from when the tax credits became available to other families. The funds were prioritized to lower income families and when they became available to higher income families, they applied and received the funds, Paxton added. 'I am supportive of the program and believe it empowers parents who may have children in a situation that isn't working for them or their needs,' he said in an email. 'We are making continued changes to the process to make it more efficient and easier for lower income families to access these funds. Our first priority needs to be those who need it the most financially.' Paxton added that as the program grows, the share of students from low-income and middle-class families who benefit is expected to increase. There are also provisions in statute to prioritize schools like Positive Tomorrows and Cristo Rey, which historically serve lower income populations, he added. Be the first to know: Sign up for breaking news email alerts House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said the program had overwhelming interest from families seeking different education options for their children. "As with any law, we must continue to monitor implementation to ensure it is easy for families to access the educational opportunities they want for their children," he said. Meyer Siegfried, spokesperson for Gov. Kevin Stitt, said the report confirms thousands of families are using the tax credit to access the best education for their children. 'The program is open to all Oklahoma taxpayers, because every parent should have education freedom, no matter their zip code or income level,' he said in an email. Lawmakers placed a $200 million cap on the program for 2024-25 and a $250 million cap for 2025-26. Some, including state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, have called for that cap to be removed. Senate Bill 229, authored by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, would remove that cap starting in 2026-27. Daniels' bill has been assigned to the Revenue and Taxation Committee, and then to the Appropriations Committee. It hasn't yet been heard. At least one state that has implemented a no-cap school choice program has run into significant financial issues. News outlet ProPublica reported last July that Arizona's school voucher program, often seen as a model for other states like Oklahoma, contributed to a $1.4 billion budget shortfall. A large portion of the shortfall was due to spending on vouchers, according to the Grand Canyon Institute, a nonpartisan fiscal and economic policy think tank. The institute said the cost of the uncapped program in Arizona went from an estimate of about $65 million to about $332 million, with another $429 million expected for 2025. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Wealthier Oklahoma households got millions in private-school tax credits
