(The Center Square) - A bill that would eliminate the sales tax on groceries by Nov. 1 was passed by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said the bill comes when families are feeling the pinch of inflation.
“The grocery tax is a regressive tax that harms working families the most, and eliminating this tax has the potential to save working families hundreds of dollars each year,” Treat said in a news release. “At a time when inflation is near a 40-year high, eliminating the state grocery sales tax would provide Oklahomans with real and meaningful tax relief.”
The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
A second bill that also removes the state sales tax on groceries was approved by a House subcommittee last week and is currently in the House Appropriations and Budget Committee.
Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman, is the sponsor of the bill which would reduce the 4.5% state sales tax on groceries by 1.5 percentage points each year until it is completely eliminated on July 1, 2024.
The impact on the state budget would be $95.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, $203.1 billion in fiscal year 2024 and $325 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to the bill’s fiscal impact report.
Neither bill would affect city or county grocery sales taxes.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said in his state of the state address he supported the elimination of the grocery sales tax.
“Cutting taxes based on how our economy grows ensures we’ll always have money to pay for core services like education and roads and bridges,” Stitt said during his address earlier this week. “As our economy grows, Oklahomans share in our success by keeping more of their hard-earned money.”
Oklahoma is one of 13 states that has a sales tax on food, Stitt said.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News