Thompson Lauds Completion of Tax Study, Sets New Study on Tax Reform

Senator Roger Thompson completed a study Wednesday which examined Oklahoma’s tax code. He serves as the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and arranged the hearings for lawmakers to learn how the tax code works.

“You can’t reform what you don’t understand—that’s why these meetings were so important,” said Thompson.  “It’s an extremely complex issue, but ultimately it affects every single person in Oklahoma.  These hearings were comprehensive, and included research gathered over the past two decades.  We didn’t need to reinvent the wheel—but now it’s time to get that wheel rolling.”

According to Thompson, Oklahoma’s sales tax exemptions total more than $6 billion a year. Various tax credits usually cost the state more than $250 million a year. Thompson also pointed out that many tax credits are claimed, but not taken which could turn into a large liability for the state.

Thompson is now turning his attention to reforming the tax code with another interim study.

“We must be able to provide adequate resources for our most fundamental services, but instead of raising taxes, we need to broaden the tax base—doing that will provide the resources we need and we could even lower the overall tax rate,” Thompson said.

Thompson believes it is time for Oklahoma’s tax code to be reformed to accommodate how the economy and people’s habits have changed.

“In the early 1950’s, 67 percent of goods sold were taxed.  Today it’s just 32 percent—less than half.  Yet here in Oklahoma, our population has grown by half a million people,” Thompson said.  “Modernizing our tax code and broadening the tax base will enable us to stabilize our budget and better fund our schools, health and mental health, public safety, and better address other critical needs.”