Legislation to cut the personal income tax, and schedule future tax cuts based on state revenue growth, has easily passed out of a House subcommittee.

House Bill 2285, by state Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, would cut the state’s personal income tax rate from 4.75 percent to 4.5 percent beginning in 2024. The bill would also substantially increase the standard deduction, further reducing Oklahomans’ tax liability.

Under the bill, single filers would see their standard deduction increase from the current $6,350 to $10,350 while married households filing jointly would have their deduction increased from $12,700 to $20,700.

Those rate-reduction and standard-deduction provisions would save Oklahomans $145.2 million annually when fully implemented.

HB 2285 would also require additional cuts to the income-tax rate as state revenue increases, putting the state on the path to eventually lower the top rate to 2.75 percent.

Under the bill, if total collections to the state’s General Revenue Fund increase by 1.5 percent or more compared to the prior year, the personal income tax rate would automatically be reduced by another quarter point.

The bill allows for seven such “trigger” cuts to be implemented over time until the top rate is cut to 2.75 percent. That would give Oklahoma one of the lowest personal income-tax rates in the nation aside from the nine states that have no personal income tax (Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming) and Arizona, which recently reduced its income tax rate to 2.5 percent.

HB 2285 passed the House Appropriations and Budget Finance Subcommittee on a 9-0 vote with little discussion and no debate. The bill now proceeds to the full House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee.