15 Inflation Relief Measures Seek To Cut Personal Taxes, Agency Budgets

The State House introduced a series of bills aimed at providing inflation relief.

The legislature gaveled in to the third special session Monday morning, which was called by Governor Kevin Stitt to eliminate the state grocery tax and reduce personal income tax.

House lawmakers introduced a series of bills after Speaker Charles McCall announced Friday he wanted to do more than what the Gov. Stitt requested. 

Lawmakers introduced options for implementing tax cuts, including a personal income tax reductions of a quarter to half a percent.

Several measures to change the state grocery tax could eliminate it entirely or suspend the tax for two years.

Lawmakers proposed an eight-year corporate income tax phaseout and a franchise tax suspension. 

They also rolled out budget cuts to the governor’s office, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services as well as the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. 

Governor Stitt vetoed the inflation relief measures passed by the legislature this session and instead called this third special session. 

However, on the Senate side of the state house, senate majority floor leader Sen. Greg McCourtney said he’s had no communication with the Governor. 

“I would love to see the grocery tax go away, for sure,” McCourtney said. “It’s a tax that I don’t like. At the same time, we need to make sure we understand what that does to the state budget before we just rush through something that feels good and looks good in the election month.”

The third special session continued Tuesday.