EDMOND —
To the Editor:
In case you haven’t heard, the governor and many in the Oklahoma Legislature want to phase out the state income tax during a 10-year period.
To pay for part of the revenue loss from this plan, the legislation will remove exemptions and deductions on personal income tax returns to include:
• All personal exemptions;
• Standard/itemized deductions based on Federal Tax Return;
• Exclusion for the portion of Social Security that is taxable at the federal level;
• Exclusions allowed for federal, state and military retirement pensions; and
• Exclusion of up to $10,000 for other types of retirement income.
It also appears that this proposed legislation will do away with the sales tax refund program for low-income families as well as the child tax credit.
This will mean that during the 10-year “phase out” period income taxes will go up for many Oklahomans. There also is no guarantee that the tax will be zero at the end of 10 years.
In addition, under the proposed legislation, the state will lose hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue each year and it is not clear what the impact of that may be.
I have read that the people who will benefit most from this proposed legislation will be those in the upper income categories, those without children and those under 65. It is clear that those who will be most affected are families with children (especially lower income) and retirees.
Oklahoma is already suffering from a lack of revenue to fund important and necessary programs. It just does not make sense to do away with state taxes, when now more than ever we need a steady revenue stream to make our state a great place to live.
It seems that some in our state just want to be able to say that we do not have a state income tax here in Oklahoma. I guess that makes for a nice sound bite or slogan, but I’d rather have a sound revenue source for our state, which will do a lot more than a sound bite to make Oklahoma great.
Mark Lash
Edmond
Letters to the Editor
LETTER: Income tax plan may hurt low-income families
- Letters to the Editor
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Oklahoma cannot stand alone
o the Editors:
President Obama visited Oklahoma on Sunday. He assured us that Oklahoma would receive every support needed to rebuild after our devastating storm. Gov. Fallin told reporters that she would “hold his feet to the fire.” Ask the people of Missouri or in New Jersey if the president needs to have his feet held to the fire!
This was the second time for President Obama to visit Oklahoma. In March of 2012, no Oklahoma top official greeted our president. Choosing to snub our president, Gov. Mary Fallin left for a family vacation in Puerto Rico and Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb attended a conference in Washington. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett did greet the president on his arrival at Tinker Air Force Base. Thank you, Mayor Cornett, for your respect and sense of protocol! - LETTER: Words of comfort for the many recent storm victims
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Senators give criminals a pass
Oklahoma’s U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe were among 45 senators who recently helped block a sensible measure to reduce gun violence. Specifically, they voted down a measure to expand background checks for gun buyers — a step favored by 86 percent of Americans, according to recent polls. Our senators were not even asked to vote for tougher measures like bans on military-type assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, also favored by 56 percent of Americans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
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LETTER: Senators give criminals a pass
To the Editor:
Oklahoma’s U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe were among 45 senators who recently helped block a sensible measure to reduce gun violence. Specifically, they voted down a measure to expand background checks for gun buyers — a step favored by 86 percent of Americans, according to recent polls. Our senators were not even asked to vote for tougher measures like bans on military-type assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, also favored by 56 percent of Americans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
By opposing background checks for gun buyers, Sens. Coburn and Inhofe voted in favor of allowing the mentally ill and criminals to buy guns! They call it “Second Amendment” rights. I call it cash for their campaigns from the gun lobby. -
LETTER: Postal carriers seek to ‘Stamp out Hunger’
To the Editor:
On Saturday, help your letter carrier “Stamp Out Hunger” by leaving canned food donations by your mailbox. In Edmond, donations benefit the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s partner agencies HOPE Center of Edmond, Route 66 Project and Edmond Grace Fellowship. This effort is part of the 21st annual Letter Carriers’ Food Drive, which is the largest one-day food drive in America. -
LETTER: Unanswered prayer leads to lower taxes, honorable policy makers
To the Editor:
In a recent column, Oklahoma Rep. Jason Murphy (“How a no vote solved gas tax problem,” The Edmond Sun, April 30, 2013) commended the wise and educated voters of Oklahoma for seeing through the 2005 fuel tax increase and demanding more action of our state policy makers. With the recent work of our elected officials, along with the Department of Transportation, our roads and bridges have seen much improvement during the past couple of years. -
LETTER: Senate bills will help veterans living in centers
To the Editor:
I just viewed a short video done by Brig. Gen. Steve Ritchie who recounts the rescue of downed Vietnam pilot RogerLocher in April 1972. Ritchie said that Loche’s rescue was the farthest behind enemy lines and superceded all air operations that day. -
LETTER: President: OneNet saves UCO money
To the Editor:
Discussion continues in The Edmond Sun publications regarding upgrading and consolidating information technology resources in state government. While I respect the viewpoint that has been expressed so far, certain facts should be taken into consideration that directly affect the University of Central Oklahoma and the 17,000 students we serve. -
Bond debt not an unpardonable sin
Is Oklahoma bond indebtedness for Oklahoma infrastructure an unpardonable sin? No! Rep. Jason Murphey wrote a good op ed dealing with what he bemoans as oppressive state bond debt. He calculates each Oklahoman owes $649 in state debt. He and the rest of the ultra-fiscal conservatives can’t bring themselves to support bonds to pay for the state Capitol repairs, building a medical examiner’s office or other legitimate capital expenditures. So using his logic I decided to apply that thinking to my personal and business life.
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Senate bill potentially denies women’s rights
Once again, our state Legislature is moving toward passage of another bill that will not stand up to a court challenge because it is contrary to federal law. It also follows the pattern of many of these failed laws in that it attempts to limit the choices women have in our state.
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Oklahoma cannot stand alone
