Oklahoma has the lowest taxes in the nation again!

[cannon_fodder]

http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/475.html

According to the tax foundation Oklahoma's average tax burden (as % of income) is the lowest in the nation.  Several reasons both positive (lower spending) and negative (low income = less federal taxes), but on the whole an interesting and positive stat for development.

On the other hand...  Oklahoma's business taxes are way off kilter.  My company, for instance, would be better off paying workers comp in BOTH Arkansas and Kansas on every dollar earned than just in Oklahoma.  And we've never had a claim filed against us.  Both states are less than half of what Oklahoma pays across the bored (heavy machine, office, sales...). No wonder large manufacturers don't want to locate in Oklahoma - there is essentially a 5% tax on ever dollar they pay their workers over any neighboring state.

Sorry for the tangent, one though led to the other.

[Conan71]

Holy ****!!! We better start raising taxes so we don't keep popping up so favorably on this list!!!

[FOTD]

It shows.

[Wrinkle]

You can also say the State and Local Tax Burden is higher than it's ever been. (11.0%)

Same for the Federal Tax Burden. (21.7%)

If 33% of one's income isn't enough, I doubt anything will satisfy those who want more.

And, please, try to keep in mind, percentages mean revenues grow with income and costs.

[Breadburner]

JANUARY 30, 2008
Too Many Bureaucrats
Oklahoma just can't afford all the overhead. Now's the time to cut back

BY J. SCOTT MOODY AND WENDY P. WARCHOLIK




The Governor's Task Force on State Employee Compensation has been meeting and studying and will soon issue a report. But one can't really talk about government employee compensation without first discussing one glaring fact: there are simply too many government employees in Oklahoma.

Indeed, in looking at the ratio of government employees to private-sector employees, one discovers that Oklahoma has the 5th highest ratio in the country.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2006 Oklahoma's state and local governments employed 271,656 people (full and part time), or 17.7 percent of the state labor force. Of the total, Oklahoma state government employed 83,769 people (this includes higher-education employees) and local governments employed 187,887. Overall, they were paid $11,191,666,000 in total compensation, or 13.1 percent of the earnings in the state (wages and salaries plus benefits).

Unfortunately, Oklahoma citizens have no direct way to judge whether or not they are getting a good "bang for the buck" for the goods and services provided by the public sector. One way to better understand the productivity of the public sector is to compare government employment and compensation levels across the 50 states.

The basis of comparison is to examine the number of jobs and their pay in Oklahoma versus the national average. There is nothing magical about the national average, of course, but since it represents an amalgam of 50 states it is reasonable to assume that being above the national average indicates low productivity among the government's workforce.

In 2006, Oklahoma's state and local governments employed 21.45 people for every 100 people employed by the private sector (this is the "employment ratio"). As mentioned above, this is the 5th highest ratio in the country. This employment ratio is 32 percent higher than the national average.

In 2006, Oklahoma's state and local government compensation was $41,198 per job while private sector compensation was $40,726 per job. The average state and local government job paid 1.2 percent higher than the average private sector job (this is the "compensation ratio").

Adjusting the employment and compensation ratio to the national average would have saved Oklahoma's taxpayers a whopping $2.7 billion in 2006. Such massive budget savings could have been used to significantly reduce taxes. For example, in 2005 (the latest year of available tax data), Oklahoma's tax burden could have been reduced to 7.35 percent of personal income from 9.75 percent of personal income--a reduction of nearly 25 percent.

Policy-makers should be aware that one way to solve the state's challenges is to grow private-sector businesses, allowing them to better compensate and hire additional employees. Policy-makers must pursue pro-growth economic policies--such as lower regulations, lower taxes, and secure property rights--that will promote economic development. Such policies are a win-win for both the private and public sectors.

 
From Urban Tulsa...

[Conan71]

Breadburner, quit spreading common sense, it might get contagious.

I still have never figured out the mentality of government being a more capable employer than the private sector.

[TheArtist]

Thats interesting. We pay less in taxes than other states per person but have more people employed by the government than the average state as well.

Not sure how to quite read that... If government people are offering a valuable service then having more of them for less money paid out would seem to be a good thing. But if more people equals more pencil pushers and bureaucracy then its a bad thing.

[we vs us]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

Thats interesting. We pay less in taxes than other states per person but have more people employed by the government than the average state as well.

Not sure how to quite read that... If government people are offering a valuable service then having more of them for less money paid out would seem to be a good thing. But if more people equals more pencil pushers and bureaucracy then its a bad thing.

Might that have to do with an extra layer of administration for all the Indian lands?  Your average state doesn't have that to deal with, overall.

[cannon_fodder]

Wevus, dealings with Indian Nations is a Federal issue.  Clearly there is some state involvement but it is relatively minimal.

Wrinkle: Dead one.

quote:Ben Franklin Wrote
It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income.

quote:Will Rogers Said
The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.  Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know when it's through if you are a crook or a martyr.

Between the complexity, the loop holes, the inefficiency, and the special interests and prodding that goes on with the tax code - my god do we ever need to start over.  When it is possible for a CPA, a tax attorney, an IRS official and a tax payer to all not *really* know the answer to a tax question (and thus wind up in court) - something is wrong.

Unless you want to call Will Roger and Ben Franklin bad names you have to agree with me. []

[Breadburner]

So for every 13 people in the State there is 1 employee or am I way off.....?

[cannon_fodder]

I assume you are talking about government employees, but it really isn't clear.

There are about 1,650,000 employed persons in Oklahoma to 74,000 unemployed persons.  Of those employed about 347,000 are government employees.  Giving us 21% government employment.
http://www.kjrh.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=b3399b40-caa8-431a-aa4e-9d4dd386013b

1 in 13 would be 8%, so triple that and we're closer.  1 in 5 people in the State or on some government payroll.  In Oklahoma County the number is far, far higher.  Same with Stillwater and Lawton.  

Lawton is military. Stillwater education.  OKC is a mix (as I've discussed at length) of Education, Federal (FAA, IRS, etc), military, state and local government).  Apparently most government jobs are not high rewarding careers reflecting 21% of the employees earning only 13% of the wages.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist


But if more people equals more pencil pushers and bureaucracy then its a bad thing.

It only takes a little realization like this to become a conservative.  []

[Breadburner]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I assume you are talking about government employees, but it really isn't clear.

There are about 1,650,000 employed persons in Oklahoma to 74,000 unemployed persons.  Of those employed about 347,000 are government employees.  Giving us 21% government employment.
http://www.kjrh.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=b3399b40-caa8-431a-aa4e-9d4dd386013b

1 in 13 would be 8%, so triple that and we're closer.  1 in 5 people in the State or on some government payroll.  In Oklahoma County the number is far, far higher.  Same with Stillwater and Lawton.  

Lawton is military. Stillwater education.  OKC is a mix (as I've discussed at length) of Education, Federal (FAA, IRS, etc), military, state and local government).  Apparently most government jobs are not high rewarding careers reflecting 21% of the employees earning only 13% of the wages.

I divided the number of Government employees into the population of Ok.....

[FOTD]

^TNF King of one liners may know about getting something for nothing.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectID=48&articleID=20080206_5_E1_spanc04883

the link explains why we have the lowest taxes.....

[Hometown]

Lowest taxes?

Maybe that's why we have the look and feel of a third world country.  The rest of the U.S. (at least the part that counts) has left us behind.

Even our dedicated strivers don't make a lot of money (with the exception of a few oil men).