Oklahoma rejects tax cut proposal
Nebraska was not alone this year in facing the prospect of damaging tax cuts. In the past few months, proposals for major income tax cuts were debated in Oklahoma too. Since Nebraska will likely face new efforts to cut taxes in the next legislative session, it’s worth taking a closer look at what happened in Oklahoma.
Earlier this year, OpenSky Policy Institute’s research showed that a proposed package of ambitious tax cuts benefitting Nebraska’s highest earners would have increased Nebraska’s deficit, heightened the state’s economic uncertainty, and made it difficult to invest in education, transportation, safe communities, and other building blocks of a strong economy. For more info on the proposal, see this article from the Lincoln Journal Star. And while the tax cut that the legislature ultimately approved was not as threatening to economic growth as earlier plans, it still was a significant step backwards for our state.
Oklahoma approached their tax cut proposal with greater caution. With many of that state’s leading economists challenging claims that eliminating the income tax would help the economy, lawmakers rejected a proposal to cut the state income tax. The proposal failed after disagreement arose about how to replace the huge loss of revenue that would have resulted.
To learn more about the proposed cuts and their defeat check out these articles from NewsOK and KJRH Tulsa.
When the legislature returns next January, Nebraska will likely face new proposals to slash taxes. Like Oklahoma did earlier this month, Nebraska would be wise to choose to maintain the resources needed so our state can continue to invest in the things that make our state great and our economy strong.