TULSA — Oklahoma has shown signs recently that it has turned the corner after a sharp economic downturn, but State Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger warns that the underlying problems remain.
“There’s so many good things occurring in this economy,” he told KRMG Wednesday, “but as far as the general revenue fund goes, which is what we use to fund state government, we’re not seeing the types of collections come into that that we need to as rapidly to really, really turn this thing - from a state funding standpoint - around.”
And, he said, that’s because of a problem he and Gov. Mary Fallin have been talking about for years.
We know many of the things that drive our economy today weren't even in existence when our tax code was developed, many of the services that people utilize -- State Secretary of Finance, Administration, and Information Technology Preston Doerflinger<br/>
Much of Oklahoma’s tax code was written in the 1930s, when Oklahoma’s economy was very different.
The governor talked about taxing services at the beginning of the last legislative session, an idea that gained no traction whatsoever in the legislature.
Doerflinger said what he and Fallin propose will not be easy.
“We are talking about transforming the overall way we approach tax in this state,” he told KRMG.
And he admitted that much of the opposition to that approach comes from within his - and the governor’s - own party.
“It’s always going to be a difficult proposition to get Republicans to realize that we’re talking about investment when we talk about taxes. I think the fundamental question that people are going to have to ask themselves, and specifically sitting members of the legislature - but the citizens too - is what type of state do we want to have? And are we going to invest in the things that are going to make our state better, more competitive, and be able to provide for the most vulnerable among us?”