The day after an Enid Senator proposed plans for a flat 2.9%t statewide income tax with no deductions; the plan is being blasted by the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
The Institute says the proposal would actually raise taxes on low income families. The group says taxes would actually increase for anyone making $57,000 a year or less.
The proposal is from Enid Republican Patrick Anderson. Senator Anderson asserted his bill offers tax relief to all Oklahomans, and it has no negative impact on the state budget. The Policy Institute says it is mathematically impossible for both of those things to be true. "If everyone is paying less taxes, then revenue will drop. If some people are paying less in a revenue neutral plan, then others are paying more", the Institute said on its blog.
"The wealthiest households would receive a tax cut, paid for by significant tax hikes on those already struggling the most to get by. Moderate-income families with children, seniors, veterans, and military personnel would be especially harmed by the loss of tax credits, deductions, and exemptions", according to the Institute.