House Sends Tax Cut To Fallin’s Desk
Oklahoma House delivers Gov. Fallin’s much sought tax cut
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Mary Fallin finally got the state personal income tax cut she’s long wanted on Wednesday, courtesy of a narrow victory in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
By a count of 54-40, with 51 votes needed for passage, the Republican-controlled House passed and sent to Fallin’s desk Senate Bill 1246, which will lower the top state income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 4.85 percent in two stages over several years, provided the state’s general revenue fund grows.
When fully implemented, the cut is expected to amount to more than $200 million a year.
Fallin has sought an income tax cut throughout her first term but has been thwarted despite Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
SB 1246 was no easy sell, either. Twelve Republicans joined all 28 voting Democrats in opposition to the bill. One of six Republicans to miss the roll call, Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, later asked that the House Journal reflect that he would have also voted no had he been present.