Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Go House Go!

Oklahoma House Republicans heard the cries of middle income families.
House Republicans, who had signed off on major income tax reform last week, reversed their stand and are proposing a more moderate reduction in the state income tax structure.
What hit a nerve was the elimination of the personal exemption for families. Under the Fallin Tax Plan, some have suggested that middle class families would be hit with higher taxes, not lower ones as Gov. Mary Fallin's plan touted.
The devil is always in the details and the Republican machine was hoping the Fallin Plan would get passed before anyone noticed that it just transferred wealth to the more wealthy and put the tax burden on the middle class.
Hold on, said many House Republicans and they put the brakes on the the railroad.
According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute - Families who itemize their taxes with incomes between $70,000 and $100,000 would pay more taxes under the Fallin Plan.
Parents with children, a house mortgage and give to charity, do itemize and under the Fallin Plan, they would lose many deductions.
Led by House Speaker Kris Steele, who said "We came here to lower taxes on hardworking Oklahomans. We're going to do exactly that with this new plan."
The new plan is based on growth triggers. It would reduce the top personal income tax rate to 4.5 percent within three to 10 years, depending on revenue growth. There must be a 5 percent annual growth in collections of motor vehicle taxes, use taxes, sales taxes, income taxes and corporate taxes apportioned to the general fund.
Finally, someone is really looking out for Oklahomans, who need to tax reform.
Go! House Go!