Newly elected Rep. Collin Walke wants to bring back the state Earned Income Tax Credit which was eliminated last year to help bridge the $1.3 billion budget gap. He says Senate Bill 1604’s biggest impact was on the working poor.
“SB 1604 penalizes some of Oklahoma’s neediest citizens by withholding funds they desperately need to buy milk and food for their families,” said Walke. “Balancing the state budget on the backs of our state’s poorest citizens is unconscionable.”
Before it was repealed, Oklahoma’s Earned Income Tax Credit was equal to 5 percent of the federal version.
Walke says in his district in northwest Oklahoma City more than 2,450 working families were affected by eliminating the credit. He said it shows the true nature of a Republican-controlled Legislature.
“They patched the budget with one-time fixes and on the backs of working families of Oklahoma. In an act of logical contortion that apparently knows no bounds, they believed that tax cuts to the wealthiest would improve the economy, while giving tax cuts to working families who need it most would be inappropriate. They can’t have it both ways, and they know this. It’s time for them to step up to the plate, show some moral courage, and reinstate the Earned Income Tax Credit to help those who desperately need it.”
