Mr. Speaker time to Step Up or Step Down on Property Tax Reform

The state representative who has been most active in pushing for property tax reform today urged House Speaker Chris Benge to “step up on this vital issue or step down and let someone else lead the House” in enacting it.

“I was frankly astonished by the Speaker’s recent statements in opposition to these simple and fair reforms,” said state Rep. David Dank (R-Oklahoma City), who has authored measures that would cap annual property tax increases at 3 percent, and freeze those taxes for seniors over 65.

“Not only are his statements out of touch with the core Republican principle of limited government we were sent here to espouse, they are factually incorrect,” Dank said.

He said his property tax reforms would result in no revenue reductions to schools or counties, and would have no impact on the state budget. Benge was quoted as claiming they would “reduce revenue.”

“How is a 3-percent annual increase a reduction?” Dank said.

“The simple truth is that we have a built-in annual tax increase for literally thousands of Oklahoma homeowners during a severe recession.

At the current 5-percent rate of increase, when you compound it, that amounts to doubling everyone’s property taxes every 13 years. That’s just wrong and I am baffled that a Republican Speaker is opposed to alleviating it.

“Speaker Benge needs to step up on this vital issue by allowing the House to vote on it or step down and let someone else lead the House to make it happen,” Dank said.

“It is especially troubling that he continues to oppose sensible property tax reform when the Senate Republican Caucus has made it a centerpiece of their 2010 legislative agenda.

Honestly, either he just doesn’t get it or he is carrying water for those special interests who think the higher the taxes--the better. I know I am not the only one in the House who is terribly disappointed with Speaker Benge.”

Dank said many of his fellow GOP House members have told him they are eager to support the two property tax reforms. He said several Democrats have also voiced their support.

“I am convinced the votes are there in the House and Senate to send these reforms to a vote of the people,” he said. “Right now, one man is standing in the way.

“When I discussed this initially with Speaker Benge he told me that if we put these two measures on the ballot to let the people decide--they would pass,” Dank said. “I told him that was the whole idea. We’re here to represent the taxpayers—not the special interests.”

Dank’s twin measures “are not tax cuts, but tax restraints,” he said. “All we are asking is that we slow the annual growth in property taxes and freeze these increases for seniors, who are often on fixed incomes. These measures would not reduce ad valorem revenues by one thin dime. They would have zero impact on the state budget. The Speaker is simply wrong on that.”

Dank said he would be happy to work with Benge on repealing a number of questionable tax credits which are costing state coffers millions in annual revenue.

“Unfortunately Speaker Benge was the House author of a bill that authorized some of these costly transferable tax credits that drain millions from the state budget without any transparency, accountability, and without creating a single job,” Dank said.

Dank said if the Legislature fails to act on his twin property tax reforms, a much more drastic limitation similar to California’s Proposition 13 is likely to be introduced by initiative petition.

“People see school districts giving large raises to superintendents and counties trying to raise executive salaries at the same time they are pleading poverty and threatening to lay off front line workers.

Taxpayers have simply had enough,” he said.

“These sensible reforms would allow reasonable revenue growth and curtail those abuses.

I call on Speaker Benge to bring them to the floor early in the 2010 session or return to the ranks and allow us to choose a Speaker more in tune with the people’s will.”