(The Center Square) – Gov. Kevin Stitt said Friday he is considering calling the Oklahoma Legislature back for another special session to get tax cuts done after the House passed a budget that did not include the tax cuts he proposed.
During the governor’s weekly press conference, he told reporters a second special session is not out of the question. Lawmakers passed the $12.9 billion budget, but it did not include income or grocery tax cuts.
“You know, when you think about it, when we have $6 billion in savings and we have $1.2 billion in excess revenue above expenses, you shouldn’t just spend all that money,” Stitt said. “You should give some of that back to the taxpayer. The fact that we weren’t able to get that done, to me, is just unbelievable.”
The governor highlighted other states with lower income tax rates than Oklahoma.
“We’re getting further and further behind. Pennsylvania: their tax rate is 3.07%. Michigan – these are democratic states – Michigan, their tax rate is 4.25%,” Stitt said. “North Carolina is what ours is, 4.75%, but they’ve got a plan right now by 2027 to go to 3.99%. Iowa is going to 3.9%. Louisiana currently is 4.25%. That doesn’t include all the states that are already at zero percent. South Dakota’s at zero, Nevada’s at zero, Wyoming’s at zero. North Dakota is at 2.9%. I could go on and on about how we’re getting further and further behind.”
He said passing tax cuts would help Oklahoma get closer to becoming the most business-friendly state in the country, which the governor has repeatedly said is one of his goals.
“When we have excess revenue, we need to just slowly slow the growth of government and not spend every dime that we have in revenue. And remember, when we do a tax cut and we put money back in Oklahomans’ pockets, it’s not like it disappears. All we’re saying is they know how to spend their money better than the government,” Stitt said.
The governor said he would not give up on tax cuts.
“I’m not going to stop advocating for lower taxes when we have excess revenue to spend. I’m not going to be a governor who just wants to grow government and spend every dime that we have,” Stitt said.
This article First appeared in the center square