Oklahoma City businessman Mart Green said Tuesday that he planned to donate $70 million to the debt-ridden university.

Green, founder of Mardel, a Christian office and educational supply store chain, said he decided to help after watching media reports about the school, which recently revealed that it was more than $50 million in debt. He never attended the university and does not know the Roberts family, he said. Read More

Trying To Stop Property Taxes From Increasing

By Rep. Jason Murphey

During the last few days, chances are that you received your property tax bill. I would also guess that this bill reflects a 5% increase in your assessment over last year. This is the time of year when my office receives calls from citizens experiencing the challenge of coming up with a larger than ever property tax payment. Second only to the issue of road improvements, I believe the issue of higher property taxes is the one I hear about the most.

I believe the property tax to be the most unfair form of taxation. This tax punishes a person for simply daring to own something and taxes them over and over again for the same property.

In 2007, I co-authored a bill by Oklahoma City State Representative Guy Liebmann which would have decreased the 5% assessment increase cap to 3% or the increase in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. Liebmann’s bill passed in the House but, unfortunately, has been held up in the Senate. It is my hope that the Senate will take action on the bill this year, as it is clear that people are getting more and more frustrated with the increases they are experiencing. As property taxes continue to rise, more citizens are being priced into buying a house beneath what they could otherwise afford. Others are faced with the dilemma of whether to sell their property or pay the high tax rate. The challenges faced by individuals with fixed incomes is forcing the legislature to make exceptions to the number of people who have to pay increased rates. These exceptions place the burden of paying property tax onto a shrinking base of property owners. Read more…

Deep Drilling Tax Credit Making Difference in Economy

By Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant

Hello again, everybody! Two years ago this week, several extreme left-wing activists from Oklahoma City passed out leaflets across our area attacking my support for a particular bill.

The bill, which I carried on the Senate floor, was a tax incentive benefiting companies that drill deep gas wells. These are the very gas wells being drilled all across the Senate district I represent and much of southeastern Oklahoma. These wells might not have been drilled except for the incentives I support and these activists oppose.

The drilling is happening in what is called the Woodford Shale formation. This is not a new gas discovery; geologists have known for some time this formation likely contained a great deal of natural gas. Even though everyone was confident the gas was there, it had to be financially feasible to get or it would stay locked in the ground.

The deep drilling necessary to reach this gas is among the most expensive and financially risky. The tax credit helped make the drilling more attractive for the drilling companies. Read more…

Sam Adams Foundation senior advisor and term limits champion Paul Jacob discusses his politically-motivated indictment in Oklahoma and the potential criminalization of politics. Our Constitutional rights of free speech, association and the right to petition are in jeopardy. Find out more at www.samadamsalliance.org and www.freepauljacob.com.

The Oral Roberts University board of regents is meeting to begin selection of a new school president, after Richard Roberts resigned from the top post.

Meanwhile, some faculty and students say they still have concerns.

Read More

“I don’t hear a drumbeat that ‘We’re not effective and I don’t like it here anymore,’ ” said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.). Read More

During the last few days, chances are that you received your property tax bill. I would also guess that this bill reflects a 5% increase in your assessment over last year. This is the time of year when my office receives calls from citizens experiencing the challenge of coming up with a larger than ever property tax payment. Second only to the issue of road improvements, I believe the issue of higher property taxes is the one I hear about the most.

I believe the property tax to be the most unfair form of taxation. This tax punishes a person for simply daring to own something and taxes them over and over again for the same property.

In 2007, I co-authored a bill by Oklahoma City State Representative Guy Liebmann which would have decreased the 5% assessment increase cap to 3% or the increase in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. Liebmann’s bill passed in the House but, unfortunately, has been held up in the Senate. It is my hope that the Senate will take action on the bill this year, as it is clear that people are getting more and more frustrated with the increases they are experiencing. As property taxes continue to rise, more citizens are being priced into buying a house beneath what they could otherwise afford. Others are faced with the dilemma of whether to sell their property or pay the high tax rate. The challenges faced by individuals with fixed incomes is forcing the legislature to make exceptions to the number of people who have to pay increased rates. These exceptions place the burden of paying property tax onto a shrinking base of property owners.

While the average property tax bill has shot skyward, the homestead exemption which allows homeowners to pay a lower bill has not increased over the years. Logan County Commissioner Mark Sharpton has requested that I propose legislation which would increase homestead exemption. I also plan to propose indexing homestead exemption to the consumer price index so that over time, the exemption will continue to grow with inflation.

The passage of these two pieces of legislation would be a good start to slowing the increase of property taxes. However, in order to have true reform and property tax reduction, we must address the problem at its source. Approximately 85% of property taxes go to Oklahoma’s education system. This money is in addition to the approximate amount of 3.5 billion dollars that we appropriate for common and higher ed. A report by the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs demonstrates that Oklahoma taxpayers probably spend about $12,000 per year for each student we educate.

Oklahoma should offer a $4,000 tax credit to those parents who choose to educate their children in the private sector where they can receive a more cost-effective education. This would empower parents with the ability to determine where their children receive an education (one of the most important choices a parent will make) and would save taxpayers about two-thirds of the cost we are now paying. This common sense move would allow for dramatic reduction in property taxation and significantly shrink the size of state government. Smaller state government means the government will have less influence over our lives, an important value I believe most Oklahomans share. This is one of the reforms I am committed to supporting as your State Representative.