Norman — The Senate’s, and soon to be House’s, passage of SB 1328 to remove the state’s tax on groceries is nothing short of an election-year parlor trick to appeal to voters and needs to be killed.
The bill, authored by Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, is inappropriate on several levels.
First, the bill vows to remove the tax, but not until state revenues meet 2008 “pre-recession” levels. The problem with that is the bill attempts to forecast the needs of the state and encumbers future legislatures. Isn’t it easy to say “the tax is bad, and we need to get rid of it ... but not now. We need it too badly.”
We agree the sales tax on groceries is among the most regressive and hits low income citizens at an abnormally high rate. But if it was bad policy, why didn’t they remove it when times were good? We know that answer. It was tried several times and went down to partisan sniping. And this effort to claim credit, but divert the pain to future legislators is simply dishonest.
Then, in another thread of legislative trickery, the state is going to reimburse cities and counties that currently rely on the income stream. “Let’s see, Mr. and Ms. Voter, we’re going to remove a tax, but then use some of the tax dollars you’re already paying us for other purposes and divert them to the resource you’re currently paying for.” Anyone believe that will happen without the dome-dwellers on Lincoln Boulevard finding a replacement revenue resource when they figure out just how much all that “reimbursement” is going to cost them? Unbelievable.
This bill, which has Randy Terrill, R-Moore, as the House sponsor, needs to be killed and addressed at the appropriate time. Like when the recovery actually occurs.
The cloud of smoke emanating from the Capitol is thick these days, but not so thick as to obscure this as a horrible piece of legislation. We hope Rep. Terrill pulls his name off the bill and it is seen for what it truly is: Election year pandering.
