Budget & Tax , Energy
Jonathan Small | November 4, 2016
Free Market Friday: Decimating wind subsidies
Jonathan Small
In a report from the state of Oklahoma Incentive Evaluation Commission on the tax credit for zero-emission facilities, the commission made clear that state subsidies for wind power generation in Oklahoma are decimating the state budget.
No doubt, the proponents of redistributing the hard-earned dollars of Oklahomans to prop up wind power generation will attack anyone opposed to their giveaway mercilessly. This attack will occur because the results of the commission’s analysis are pretty damning for the notion that Oklahoma should continue state-funded wind subsidies.
In the report the commission notes: “While the credit will be closed to new recipients in 2021, the additional possible eligible facilities (and the 10 years of credits for each) create a significant threat to the State budget.”
Even more concerning for core services and taxpayers, the commission found: “There are not current adequate protections (such as caps) to deal with possible future fiscal impact.”
Based on the report, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, a whopping $113 million in zero-emission tax credits were claimed. Nearly half of all K-12 public school classroom teachers in Oklahoma could be paid a $5,000 raise for what Oklahomans are shelling out in wind subsidies.”
Jonathan Small
President
Jonathan Small, C.P.A., serves as President and joined the staff in December of 2010. Previously, Jonathan served as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, as a fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Small’s work includes co-authoring “Economics 101” with Dr. Arthur Laffer and Dr. Wayne Winegarden, and his policy expertise has been referenced by The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, National Review, the L.A. Times, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post. His weekly column “Free Market Friday” is published by the Journal Record and syndicated in 27 markets. A recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s prestigious Private Sector Member of the Year award, Small is nationally recognized for his work to promote free markets, limited government and innovative public policy reforms. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant.