Oklahoma
State Senate
Assistant Republican Floor
Leader
Senator Owen Laughlin
State Capitol Room 529-B
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
(405) 521-5626
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For Immediate Release: February 15, 2006
Sen. Owen Laughlin
Asst. GOP Leader Says Meacham Doesn’t Understand
Economics of Tax Relief
-“This healthy increase (in state
tax revenues) comes even though income tax rates were
reduced from 6.65 percent to 6.25 percent on January
1.” – State Treasurer Scott Meacham, Journal
Record, February 15, 2006
-“What Mr. Meacham doesn’t
understand is that tax revenues are growing because
of the tax cuts, not in spite of them.” –
Assistant Senate GOP Leader Owen Laughlin, news release,
February 15, 2006.
State Capitol, Oklahoma City – Assistant Senate
Republican Leader Owen Laughlin said Wednesday that
comments by the Democrat state treasurer show that he
doesn’t understand the basic economics of tax
relief.
“I was surprised by the lack of
understanding displayed by Treasurer Meacham when he
stated that state tax revenues jumped ‘even though’
an income tax cut took effect in January. What Mr. Meacham
doesn’t seem to understand is that tax revenues
are growing because of the tax cuts, not in spite of
them,” said Laughlin, R-Woodward.
Laughlin noted that many tax cuts –
especially reductions in the income tax – spur
new economic activity, which results in greater economic
growth, which then results in larger tax revenues for
the government.
“This is a fact that few Democrat
officeholders understand today. John F. Kennedy was
probably the last major Democrat in office who understood
that cutting income tax rates actually results in higher
tax revenues for the government,” he said.
Senate Republicans are pushing two major
tax relief measures to grow the economy and to attract
and keep good jobs: a long-term reduction of the state’s
high income tax rate and the total elimination of the
state’s death tax.
For
more information contact:
Senator Laughlin's Office - (405) 521-5626