Special Session Threatens Massive Tax Increases
A really good article on the upcoming special session can be found at this link. We all should be worried about the session that begins next week as Fallin has vowed to kill any legislation that cuts spending and she has advocated a billion dollars in new taxes to cover the quarter billion dollar in lost funding due to the Supreme Court decision on the cigarette tax.
The article covers the massive pile of Senate bills already filed and how many of the bills have little to do with fixing the budget and more with spreading even more tax credits and exemptions to those that are politically corrected or willing to pay campaign contributions. The special session is expected to last a minimum of ten days due to the Constitutional prohibition on passing revenue bills in the last five days of a session. Then the legislators have to remain until Fallin signs or vetos the legislation.
The problem of course is both House and Senate leadership are completely tone deaf to the current mood of the state and the country. Earlier this week at the Republican Caucus meeting House leadership is planning to gut the state $1000 per person exemption on the tax return and slash the income tax rates, meaning the poor, the working class, and the middle class will pay more while the bulk of the tax savings goes to the wealthy.
Then there are bills filed to carve out exemptions to the new vehicle sales tax for big trucks, trailers, and for veterans. Sorry vets, if you can afford a new car then you can afford to help carry some of the tax burden.
Please call and email your individual representative and senator and tell them to increase class sizes, chop off funding to higher education and force the colleges to get their spending under control, pass the anti swag bill, audit all of the state agencies and turnpike, and pass bail bond forfieture reform so that forfieted bond money goes into the state treasury which will bring in about $40 to $50 million dollars a year.
