OKLAHOMA
CITY – An Owasso Republican mulling a run for governor said Wednesday
he wants to reimburse Oklahoma taxpayers up to $2.6 billion in federal
stimulus money that Oklahoma is scheduled to receive.
State Sen. Randy Brogdon said he plans to introduce legislation calling for tax rebates.
Under
his plan, the amount of any federal stimulus money spent in Oklahoma
would be returned to state taxpayers through sales tax rebates,
beginning with $400 per person. He says his plan could amount to an
income tax rebate of up to 40 percent for the average Oklahoma taxpayer.
Brogdon
previously has called on Oklahoma leaders to return all of the federal
stimulus money to President Obama and Congress, saying it threatens the
country’s long-term financial health.
“Governor Henry has chosen
to listen to President Obama and the Washington insiders on how
Oklahoma’s tax dollars should be spent,” Brogdon said. “I choose to let
the people of Oklahoma decide for themselves how to spend their money.
“The
plan is simple. For every dollar of President Obama’s stimulus program
that Governor Henry decides to spend, I will introduce legislation that
rebates the same amount back to the people of Oklahoma.”
Henry
spokesman Paul Sund said Henry has maintained a consistent position on
the stimulus package and that because it is partly financed by Oklahoma
tax dollars sent to Washington, the state should bring that money back
to Oklahoma to benefit its economy.
“It would be shortsighted to
allow Oklahoma tax dollars to be spent in other states improving their
roads and bridges, for example, but that is exactly what Senator
Brogdon had advocated in recent weeks,” Sund said. “Because Senator
Brogdon is running for governor and seeking as much free publicity as
he can get, I suspect he will continue to crank out news releases
offering all kinds of ideas on all kinds of subjects to draw attention
to his campaign.”
Brogdon, a former mayor of Owasso, has not
officially declared his candidacy, but he has formed a committee to
raise money for a possible run at the governor’s office in 2010.