Oklahoma Senate panel OKs repeal of income tax cut trigger

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Senate committee has approved legislation to repeal the trigger for a cut in the state's individual income tax rate.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday voted 32-4 for the bill and sent it to the full Senate for a vote.

Legislation passed in 2014 provided a mechanism to reduce Oklahoma's top tax rate from 5 percent to 4.85 percent when tax collections increase by about $100 million annually, enough to cover the cost of the tax cut. Since then, state revenues have plummeted and the state faces a budget hole of $878 million next year.

State finance officials, including Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger and Treasurer Ken Miller, have suggested that lawmakers scrap or revise the trigger point until state revenues have stabilized.

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Senate Bill 170: http://bit.ly/2lwNQz6