Report: Stitt pushing to eventually eliminate state income tax

By John Dobberstein, Editor

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a Fox Business interview this week he is pushing to provide relief for residents by slashing some state taxes.

This includes eventually eliminating the state income tax over a period of years.

"In Oklahoma, since I've been governor, we have a budget surplus. So now is the time to give that back to the people," Stitt said on "Varney & Co" Tuesday.

"We want to get rid of income tax, get that to zero. We want to be the most business-friendly state in the country.”

Eight states in the country don’t have a personal income tax for taxpayers: Wyoming, Washington, Texas, South Dakota, Alaska, Nevada, Florida and Tennessee.

Currently, Oklahoma's state income tax rate is at 4.75%.

"This last session. I called for a 75-point reduction to get it down into the threes. You do that, when you have a budget surplus, so it just makes common sense,” Stitt said in the interview. “I'm not going to put our core services at risk. But with surplus, we should give that back to the citizens of Oklahoma. That's what I'm advocating for."

Stitt is advocating for bringing the tax down to zero, like Florida or Texas.

"If you look at the states that are really growing, and Oklahoma's economy is booming right now, but it could be going even better if we would start lowering that,” Stitt said.

“And I'm not saying you do it overnight, but as revenue increases, you take part of that revenue and you can grow modestly some things. And over the next decade, you can put your state on the path to zero."

Stitt also told Fox Business he hopes to reduce the state grocery tax.

"We're one of only 12 states that taxes groceries, and I'm trying to eliminate that because of the inflation and the harm that it's costing everyday Americans, everyday Oklahomans,” Stitt said in the interview . “We're trying to give them some relief at the grocery store as well."