AFP- 2009 Oklahoma Taxpayer Prosperity Agenda

AFP- Oklahoma
2009 Taxpayer Prosperity Agenda
“It’s Our Money”

Tax dollars are taxpayer dollars, and elected officials need to be reminded that “It’s our money!” AFP-Oklahoma supports programs that promote self-reliance and limited government. The 2009 Taxpayer Prosperity Agenda, if followed, will secure taxpayer protections and common sense solutions.

State Agenda:
School choice for all Oklahomans & appropriate,
responsible educational spending
End contract taxpayer-funded lobbyists
Eliminate the franchise tax
Legal reform legislation

School Choice for ALL Oklahomans & Appropriate Education Spending:

Did you know that:

You have a choice where to send your kids to college but not to K-12. Why not? After all, taxpayers are paying for both.

Allowing School Choice will actually save Oklahoma education money:

It cost over $8,000 to educate a student in Oklahoma…

But only $4,000 to send them to a private school

Even if a family is given a tax deduction of $4,000 for the private school, the school system keeps the difference. School choice can work.

The OEA’s $850 million petition is more money than is spent on prisons, roads and bridges. Money is not the answer. Enough is never enough.

Since 1985 the student population in Oklahoma grew by 7.1%...
But Oklahoma school employment increased 46%-- 7 times faster than the student growth.

During this same period, common education spending grew from 1.463 billion to 3.808 billion, and we’re still ranked 48 th by the NAEP.

AFP-Oklahoma calls for School Choice for all students. If we want competition and better schools, we need to allow parents to decide where their kids will go to school. Both high and low performing schools will improve through competition . In addition, Oklahoma needs responsible and transparent education spending that focuses on students and not the administration.

End Contract Taxpayer-funded Lobbying:

Using tax dollars to hire contract lobbyists to go back to the capitol and lobby for more of our tax dollars is wrong. We need transparency and accountability in state spending.

Lobbying with our tax dollars is a growth industry in Oklahoma:
State, county, and city governments use our tax dollars daily to hire contract lobbyist to represent you. AFP believes that Oklahomans should be represented by the politicians they elect, not by lobbyists.

There are at least 122 government paid lobbyists in Oklahoma representing 54 state- funded entities, but we’re not sure since Oklahoma does not require this information from lobbyists, and remains opaque.
Oklahoma is ranked 42 nd in “lobbying openness” by the Center for Public Integrity.

From ’98-08, Oklahoma’s taxpayers spent over $8,900,000 on federal lobbyists, while the cities of Norman and OKC spent $720,000 and $640,000 respectively.

The citizens of Oklahoma work hard for their money and they deserve to have their tax dollars spent wisely. AFP-Oklahoma will help shine a light on taxpayer-funded lobbying in our state, and end contract taxpayer-funded lobbying.

Eliminate the Franchise Tax:

The Franchise Tax generally cost small businesses more money in compliance than is paid in taxes. We want to entice businesses to come to Oklahoma, not tax them out of state.

Only four states enact a franchise tax, and Oklahoma’s business tax climate is ranked 18 th by the Tax Foundation. We can do better!

A repeal has wide support:
A repeal passed out of the House on wide margins in 2005 and 2006. Most businesses pay between $250 to $20,000 in Franchise Taxes.
Oklahoma State Chamber supports the repeal.

Oklahoma already has a 6% corporate income tax rate which makes the franchise tax unnecessary. It’s an anti-business, double taxation practice that needs to end.

Legal Reform:

Whether Oklahoma has a tort problem or not is beside the question. The perception among doctors, businesses, and other professionals wanting to come to Oklahoma is that we do. Our judges have kept these types of lawsuits under control but more is needed to entice businesses and families to move to Oklahoma.

The Governor has 18 legal reform points left that he wants passed. Oklahoma’s legislature passed those reforms last year and the governor vetoed them. AFP will fight to get meaningful reform passed in 2009.

National Agenda:

Stop “Cap-n-Trade,” and the union’s “Card Check” (The Employee Free Choice Act) bills

On the national level, the Cap-n-Trade will be one of the most destructive bills ever passed for the state of Oklahoma because it focuses on taxing energy producers- taxes that are then passed on to consumers.

It’s a “hidden tax” scheme designed to force you to use less energy by making energy so expensive that you’ll have to find alternatives.

The CBO estimates that it’s a $1.2 TRILLION tax increase on our citizens.
Union’s “Card Check” bill would do away with the “secret ballet” for workers leading to harassment and intimidation.

Card Check reverses our Right-to-Work legislation passed a few short years ago along with many of the rights it protects.

If passed, employers will have 90 days to come up with a contract or the Feds will, through forced arbitration, which then completely ties the hands of business owners and increases their expenses.

*The list is not all inclusive as we’ll also fight to lower the Property Tax Cap to 3%,lower income taxes for all Oklahomans, and to ensure our roads and bridges are properly funded and maintained.

AFP-Oklahoma is committed to building a grassroots effort around the state to educate, organize, and mobilize our taxpayers in fighting for lower taxes and ending wasteful spending.

Our issues are bi-partisan and transcend party lines. AFP represents the taxpayers’ interests.

We, together, can make a difference and make Oklahoma a place where businesses and families will want to come and stay. In order to ensure this goal becomes reality, AFP-Oklahoma has chosen the above issues for its 2009’s Taxpayer Prosperity Agenda.