The deal is that non public service businesses were not paying this tax anyway so they are not getting a break, they're just staying the same. public service businesses were the only ones paying this but because of the court ruling making everything equal, it has to be all or none. SO... the thousands of businesses who have never paid this before will actually have a tax increase if the tax is put into effect (and presumably generate MUCH more than this tax did in the past while skinning companies that never paid it and built their models without it). If the tax is not put into effect, then the public service companies will have a tax reduction costing the pool 50M. So... if you vote to not put the tax in effect, the legistature will HAVE to go back to the drawing board and figure it out... THAT is what needs to happen. Do you honestly think they're just going to raise property taxes across the board on citizens to make up the difference? They'll be voted out so quick it will make their heads spin if that happens.
Do you honestly believe that just because something is worth money, we should pay a tax on it?
I understand the need for limited taxes, but why is it that liberals believe everyone should want to pay more taxes (it's "patriotic", according to Biden)? As if the more taxes we pay, the more content with our lives that we'll be. People are already charged sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes, death taxes. Why should every action we take in life have a tax associated with it?
Is what I earn mine, or is it the government's (who just happens to let me keep a little of it to live off of)?
Trust me, I will. What I've read on this board only re-affirms my belief that liberals have no problem raising taxes on other people, as long as they don't think it will affect them. Higher taxes on the rich? No problem!
Businesses have to make a profit to stay in business. The more they are taxed, regardless of the method, the higher their operating costs become and the more expensive their services or goods will be. Isn't this basic economics? They will either lose customers or worst case, their more expensive goods and services will force them to go out of business, eliminating the very tax stream the government tried to generate in the first place.
You think Liberals raise taxes? This is Oklahoma. Our government is dominated by Conservative Republicans. You need to open your eyes to politics. Liberals have nothing to do with this tax question.
Also basic economics: free markets rely upon a framework created by governments to be successful. Things like police and fire services protect private property. Public schools provide an educated workforce. Roads, railways, and airports lower the cost of goods by making them easier to ship. Courts enforce contracts.
Historically, this kind of infrastructure has never been the result of private enterprise alone. States have always needed to create and maintain it. Taxes are what businesses pay into the common pot to keep all this stuff working.
This isn't to say that more taxes are always better, but tax cuts aren't always good. Some tax relief here would absolutely be welcome; for example, it's unbelievable to me that OK has a sales tax on groceries. However, the idea that giving away tax breaks to firms that are already making money hand over fist will improve lives in OK just isn't supported by history.
It's not a tax cut...
It's keeping this tax from newly impacting the thousands of businesses that have never been on the hook to pay it anyway.
The issue is the legislature was too lazy to go back and sort out the mess created by the original law and subsequent supreme court ruling that they couldn't ONLY tax public service companies in this way.
Vote FOR SQ766 to knock this tax down and FORCE the legislature to go back and determine the best way to deal with the mess they created instead of just applying a NEW tax to EVERY SINGLE non-public service business in Oklahoma.
If you believe that they will just do something even more stupid like add to every single private citizen's property tax to make up for it... then I can't help you.
It's keeping this tax from newly impacting the thousands of businesses that have never been on the hook to pay it anyway.
The issue is the legislature was too lazy to go back and sort out the mess created by the original law and subsequent supreme court ruling that they couldn't ONLY tax public service companies in this way.
Vote FOR SQ766 to knock this tax down and FORCE the legislature to go back and determine the best way to deal with the mess they created instead of just applying a NEW tax to EVERY SINGLE non-public service business in Oklahoma.
If you believe that they will just do something even more stupid like add to every single private citizen's property tax to make up for it... then I can't help you.
Agreed.
I don't know where you're getting all of this.
http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma...ffer-if-oklahomans-vote-to-stop-taxing-ideas/
1. It wasn't just public service companies. LOTS of big firms pay taxes on centrally-assessed assets, like airlines.
2. This is absolutely a tax cut on big companies with centrally-assessed assets, since this removes all taxes on all intangible assets.
3. Assessors are obviously not up to taxing intangible assets on every single small business (they themselves are saying they probably couldn't if they wanted to), so there's no reason to think that a new tax beyond the $25 "in lieu of" tax would take effect.
I could support an amendment that was more specific I guess but it still won't have a positive effect on small businesses.
If you believe that they will just do something even more stupid like add to every single private citizen's property tax to make up for it... then I can't help you.
Well they can take money away from vital services. The state hasn't shown any reluctance to do that.
For things like bond measures, the money has to come from someplace. Oklahoma doesn't really have someplace.
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