With almost $2 billion more to spend subsequent year, Gov. Kevin Stitt believes Oklahoma can increase faculty spending whereas additionally decreasing taxes.
Nearly $12.7 billion will likely be obtainable for Fiscal Year 2024, which begins in July, in accordance with estimates licensed throughout a Friday assembly of the state Board of Equalization.
The estimate, which would be the last one till June, confirmed an almost $2 billion enhance over the present fiscal year.
“I still believe we can invest in education and cut taxes, as well,” mentioned Stitt, who chairs the seven-member Board of Equalization.
More:Oklahoma House speaker proposes tax credit for personal faculty households, trainer pay elevate
Lawmakers have till the top of May to craft subsequent year’s budget based mostly on the estimates launched Friday.
Stitt is pushing for an earnings tax lower, an elimination of the state gross sales tax on groceries, and nonetheless desires to spend a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to lure a significant producer to jap Oklahoma.
But he isn’t the one one with concepts on find out how to spend the state’s cash.
This week, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, proposed each a $2,500 trainer pay elevate and a $300 million enhance to the state’s per-pupil funding of public colleges.
Other legislative proposals embrace further funding to assist low-income girls and households, cuts to the state’s company tax charge, and elevated state company funding to maintain tempo with inflation.
However, Sen. Roger Thompson, the Senate’s appropriation chair, cautioned towards tax cuts or budget will increase this year.
More:Despite big money reserves, company tells Oklahoma lawmakers to avoid wasting even more cash
“We don’t even have all the fiscal impacts yet on all the bills that are running, so we don’t know where we are yet,” mentioned Thompson, R-Okemah.
“If you look at oil and gas, I still believe even the new prices we are basing this budget on are optimistic.”
Last month, the bipartisan Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency issued a report that advised lawmakers to prioritize saving more money and to focus on tax incentives rather than tax cuts.
Tax cuts are hard to reverse because of Oklahoma’s high bar for raising taxes in the state Legislature, but tax incentives are easier to change in the event of an economic downturn, the report said.
Stitt acknowledged on Friday that budget conversations still had a ways to go.
But he said the revenue estimates showed Oklahoma has options, especially with another $1.7 billion in its savings accounts.
“We are in a good situation,” Stitt mentioned.
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