Articles
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Budget & Tax
Expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults costs taxpayers $2.5 billion
A new report from an Oklahoma fiscal watchdog shows that Medicaid expansion will cost taxpayers an additional $2.5 billion next year and ultimately force lawmakers to divert hundreds of millions of state taxpayer dollars from other uses.Ray Carter | September 11, 2024
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Budget & Tax
Oklahoma business owners say income-tax cuts needed
A recent survey of Oklahoma business owners and executives found that 78 percent favor reducing or eliminating the state income tax.Ray Carter | September 10, 2024
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Budget & Tax
A look at Oklahoma CareerTech spending
Adjusted for inflation, state appropriations to Oklahoma CareerTech are lower than they were two decades ago.Curtis Shelton | August 30, 2024
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Budget & Tax
Oklahoma grocery-tax change: A tax cut for the rich?
Class-warfare arguments decrying an income-tax cut as a benefit for “the rich” ignore the fact that the same thing holds true for repeal of the sales tax on groceries. Oklahoma’s upper-income households get much more benefit from the grocery tax repeal than lower-income households do.Ray Carter | August 29, 2024
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Budget & Tax
Stitt continues to push for tax cuts
Gov. Kevin Stitt renewed his call for tax cuts this week after recent data showed the state government is in a strong fiscal position.Ray Carter | August 14, 2024
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Budget & Tax
A look at Oklahoma mental-health spending
In his continuing blog series on spending trends at Oklahoma's largest state agencies, OCPA's Curtis Shelton looks at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS).Curtis Shelton | August 7, 2024
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Budget & Tax
A look at corrections spending
In our ongoing series of blog posts on the state budget, today we look at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.Curtis Shelton | July 17, 2024
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Budget & Tax
Free agents reap tax savings
Here are a few notable free-agent signings from the NBA, and how their new tax rates in different states will affect how much of their earnings they’ll actually get to keep.Curtis Shelton | July 11, 2024
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Budget & Tax, Education
Watchdog report: No shortage of funds in Oklahoma schools
Funding for Oklahoma public schools surged more in the last five years than in the prior 25 years. So far, there is little indication that this massive spending binge has generated any notable improvement in academic outcomes.Ray Carter | June 26, 2024
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Budget & Tax
A look at Oklahoma DHS spending
Continuing his series on Oklahoma’s 10 largest state agencies, Curtis Shelton looks at funding growth at the Department of Human Services.Curtis Shelton | June 26, 2024