Senator Williams Comments on Gov. Keating's Tax Cut Rhetoric

Statement by Senator Penny Williams,
Chairman, Senate Education Committee

"Frank Keating saying that he's looking out for poor people is like Colonel Sanders saying he's looking out for the chickens. If he were truly interested in helping working families, he wouldn't be pushing a tax cut that disproportionately helps the wealthiest people in Oklahoma."

"If Governor Keating really wants to help needy Oklahomans, he could start by helping me pass my proposed elimination of the sales tax on groceries. Or he could get behind one of the several sales tax holiday bills that the Senate has approved. Or he could announce his support for the earned income tax credit bill that is currently making its way through the House. All of those proposals would do a great deal more for working families
than the Governor's tax cut programs."

"Interestingly, an official at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - the source cited by the Governor in his press release - agrees that Governor Keating is taking the wrong approach to help needy Oklahomans. In fact, when our staff contacted a center official about the Governor's press release this afternoon, he indicated that in his attempt to promote his tax program, Governor Keating was misusing the findings of the center's report. He stated that Governor Keating's income tax cut program would do little to help needy Oklahomans and that there were far more effective ways to deliver tax relief to low income citizens."