Tulsa World
by: WARREN VIETH Oklahoma Watch
Monday, July 11, 2011
7/11/2011 4:17:40 AM
Editor's note: This is one of a series of stories by Oklahoma Watch concerning Oklahoma tax breaks.
Oklahoma Watch is an independent, nonprofit investigative reporting team that collaborates with other media organizations.
A newly created state task force will launch a study of state tax breaks by examining a taxpayer subsidy that has helped finance the rehabilitation of historic buildings, such as the Mayo Hotel in Tulsa and Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City.
The 10-member panel also plans to review two insurance industry tax breaks when it holds its first session Friday at the Capitol.
Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, task force co-chairman, said the historic building and insurance tax credits are the first of many the panel intends to scrutinize by the end of the year.
"We're going to analyze each one of those and determine which ones are serving a purpose for taxpayers and which ones are just giveaways," said Dank, who chairs the House Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee. "We couldn't be more serious."
The Task Force for the Study of State Tax Credits and Economic Incentives was authorized in the waning days of the 2011 legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin. Its members include state Treasurer Ken Miller, state Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones and key House and Senate lawmakers of both parties.
Although previous studies of tax subsidies have not produced dramatic results, Dank said he was "100 percent confident" that this inquiry would lead to passage of legislation next year to scale back some of the tax breaks now on the books. The impact on state revenue could be more than $200 million annually, he said... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Mon, July 11, 2011
by John Cox