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Gross Receipts for Oklahoma set records as economy grows Treasurer McDaniel
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CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
Oklahoma’s expanding economy pushed Gross Receipts to the Treasury into record high territory for both 12-month revenue and June collections, State Treasurer Randy McDaniel announced Wednesday, July 7.
Receipts of $14.32 billion during fiscal year 2021, which ended June 30, are the highest on record during any 12-month period in Oklahoma history.
Collections of $1.54 billion from the past month are the highest for any June.
“Positive economic news of this magnitude is reassuring,” State Treasurer Randy McDaniel said in his monthly press release provided to The City Sentinel and other news organizations.
“The economic picture in Oklahoma is still developing, but it’s clearly much improved from where we were a year ago during the depths of the pandemic.”
The substantial increase in gross receipts can be attributed to growth in economic activity along with some non-economic factors, including more than $10 billion in direct federal payments to Oklahomans in response to the pandemic and the timing of income tax payment deadlines.
Last year’s income tax deadline was delayed from April to July, so it’s included in the current 12-month report along with payments due this year. In addition, June receipts are boosted by the change in this year’s income tax payment deadline from April to June. Total income tax collections are up by more than 21 percent for the fiscal year and 73 percent for the month.
McDaniel said oil and gas gross production tax collections show the biggest percentage increase of all major revenue sources for the month. Gross production receipts of $79.7 million are up by more than 300 percent from June of last year when payments were at a record low due to depressed oil prices.
Other indicators
The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index expanded its growth in June. The monthly index was set at 73.6, up from 68.9 in May. Numbers above 50 indicate economic expansion is expected during the next three to six months.
The May unemployment rate in Oklahoma was reported as 4.0 percent by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s jobless rate was down from 4.1 percent in April and from 9.5 percent in May 2020. The U.S. unemployment rate was set at 5.8 percent in May.
June collections
Compared to gross receipts from June 2020, collections in June 2021 show:
• Total monthly gross collections are $1.54 billion, up $440.2 million, or 40.2 percent.
• Gross income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income taxes, generated $704.9 million, up by $297.6 million, or 73.1 percent.
• Individual income tax collections are $519.5 million, an increase of $193.3 million, or 59.3 percent.
• Corporate collections are $185.4 million, up by $104.3 million, or 128.6 percent.
• Combined sales and use tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $523.9 million – up by $53.1 million, or 11.3 percent
• Sales tax collections total $453.3 million, an increase of $48.4 million, or 12 percent.
• Use tax receipts, collected on out-of-state purchases including internet sales, generated $70.6 million, an increase of $4.7 million, or 7.1 percent.
• Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas total $79.7 million, an increase of $60.1 million, or 305.8 percent.
• Motor vehicle taxes produced $85.9 million, up by $10.3 million, or 13.6 percent.
• Other collections composed of some 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, medical marijuana, and alcoholic beverages, produced $140.7 million – up by $19.1 million, or 15.7 percent.
• The medical marijuana tax produced $6 million, up by $475,893, or 8.6 percent from June 2020.
Twelve-month collections
Combined gross receipts for past 12 months compared to the trailing 12 months show:
• Gross revenue totals $14.32 billion. That is $1.3 billion, or 10 percent, above collections from the previous period.
• Gross income taxes generated $5.32 billion, an increase of $945.1 million, or 21.6 percent.
• Individual income tax collections total $4.44 billion, up by $577 million, or 14.9 percent.
• Corporate collections are $879.1 million, an increase of $368.1 million, or 72 percent.
• Combined sales and use taxes generated $5.82 billion, an increase of $347.2 million, or 6.3 percent.
• Gross sales tax receipts total $4.96 billion, up by $231.3 million, or 4.9 percent.
• Use tax collections generated $858.7 million, an increase of $115.9 million, or 15.6 percent.
• Oil and gas gross production tax collections generated $754.3 million, down by $74.9 million, or 9 percent.
• Motor vehicle collections total $822.3 million, an increase of $38 million, or 4.9 percent.
• Other sources generated $1.6 billion, up by $49.2 million, or 3.2 percent.
• Medical marijuana taxes generated $66.1 million, up by $23.7 million, or 55.9 percent.
About Gross Receipts to the Treasury: The monthly Gross Receipts to the Treasury report, developed by the state treasurer’s office, provides a timely and broad view of the state’s economy. It is released in conjunction with the General Revenue Fund report from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which provides information to state agencies for budgetary planning purposes. The General Revenue Fund, the state’s main operating account, receives less than half of the state’s gross receipts with the remainder paid in rebates and refunds, remitted to cities and counties, and apportioned to other state funds.
Gross Receipts for Oklahoma set records as economy grows Treasurer McDaniel Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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Staff Report
Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School will commemorate the success of its students while enjoying An Evening of Royals. The second annual event will be held on Thursday, Aug. 19, at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club to celebrate students, community supporters and Corporate Work Study Partners.
“After the last year of obstacles and challenges our students have had to overcome, we look forward to finally being able to celebrate our students’ hard work, an honor they have earned and deserve now more than ever,” Cristo Rey OKC President Chip Carter said. “Additionally, we will be recognizing special individuals including our Corporate Work Study Partners and those in the community who support our mission.”
(link for information: https://ift.tt/2Ypxlc3)
An Evening of Royals will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception followed by a dinner and celebratory program at 7 p.m. Co-chaired by Bob and Heather Ross, this event will also honor Judy Love as the recipient of the Cristo Rey OKC Legacy Award and The Boldt Company as the school’s Corporate Work Study Partner of the Year. The Cristo Rey OKC Legacy Award recognizes an individual whose ideals, influence and accomplishments on behalf of distinguished record of community service throughout his/her life have left a lasting, positive impression with the Cristo Rey community.
“We are deeply grateful to Judy and proud to recognize her for being such an integral part of the Cristo Rey OKC launch in 2018 and our school’s early success,” Carter continued. “Judy has been nothing short of miraculous for our school and has done so much for the Oklahoma City community, much more than people know.”
Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Lauren Paternostro via email at [email protected].
For more information about this event, visit here: https://ift.tt/3wpf6Ce.
About Cristo Rey Oklahoma City: Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School is a Catholic learning community that educates young people of limited economic means to become men and women of faith, knowledge, purpose and service. A member of the national Cristo Rey Network of 37 schools, Cristo Rey OKC combines rigorous academics with real-world work experience, seeking to prepare their students for success in college and life. As part of Cristo Rey’s unique Corporate Work Study Program, students work one day a week in professional settings, earning a majority of their own tuition.
Cristo Rey Oklahoma City to host an evening of Royals, Judy Love will receive Legacy Award Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK With inspirations from Kashmir and Oklahoma from Viktor Frankl and her family Nyla Khan creates7/6/2021 ![]()
Pat McGuigan
In a wide-ranging discourse on conflict, youthful trauma, historic events and contemporary challenges, Dr. Nyla Khan engaged a diverse set of Oklahomans who gathered at a north Oklahoma City home to mark the release of her newest book.
Dr. Nyla praised the life’s body of work from Father Michael Lapsley as source material for her studies and reflections. She recalled that after an attempt was made to kill him (in which he lost an eye and both hands), Lapsley found his way forward, establishing for the nation of South Africa the “Institute for Healing of Memories.”
She told the July 1 gathering that she first encountered Lapsley at Oklahoma City’s Fairview Baptist Church. The breadth of her scholarly inspiration, Dr. Nyla made clear, includes men like Lapsley and the late Viktor Frankl.
Upon her first reading, she drew hope from Frankl’s ability to distill his own trauma and suffering into conclusions echoing core beliefs within diverse world faith positions. Frankl survived the Holocaust of the 1940s, going on to write a book that remains among the most influential works created in the Twentieth Century.
In “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Frankl wrote: “Everything can be taken from man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Dr. Nyla’s new book is “Educational Strategies for Youth Empowerment in Conflict Zones: Transforming, not Transmitting, Trauma” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). It is available both in print and digital versions.
Concerning direct work with students, Dr. Nyla said that in classrooms, she encourages discussion of individual responses to trauma and challenges.
She reflects that many young people seem to carry “a sense of entitlement” – whether it is centered on position, access to power or their preferred interpretation of events. She presses them, hoping they find an understanding that “with entitlement comes responsibility.”
She asserts that her work has led to examinations of “multiple human life issues.” Dr. Nyla believes that contemporary students react best to testimonials. Young people discovering broader realities of modern life bear burdens in these times as they discern a “loss of values they thought would buoy them up.”
A trauma-informed approach to justice, she contends, leads to affirmation of the central importance of community and institution-building, realistic and pragmatic ways to broaden awareness among one’s own experiences. She recognizes but is not obsessed with debate questions among philosophers along the lines of this: “Do theories have a real impact on society?”
Dr. Nyla told attendees at the recent event she was encouraged to learn of the practical work of Charles (David) Tauber in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia, using discussion, study and arbitration to benefit students and families.
In her work at Rose State and Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC), she has learned from the experiences of American soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and from their candor about the aftermath of time in combat.
In his era of mass-media-driven “one-up-manship” and propaganda, Dr. Nyla described tutoring students to understand, and act upon, a knowledge that resolving a problem requires respectful discourse, a willingness to learn there are “shades of gray” in life.
Even as she seeks “transformative” understandings, she casts honor on the choices of those who choose a life of service to family, neighbors and community.
For all her generously calibrated praise for the works of scholars such as Lapsley, Frankl and
Tauber, the clearest emotional spark for her growing intellectual exploration emerges from her own family – her father and mother, and, in the last 18 years, her daughter.
Concerning her father, Dr. Nyla shared tender thoughts: “He often told me that people should feel free to delight in life until the last breath. He taught me how to live, and the flame of my father’s love will never be extinguished. Every calamity and every conflict reminds us of the fragility of life.”
And this: “Life is transient and precarious. The sooner we realize that we live on the edge of an abyss, the more present we will be for every moment, big and small.
As for the spiritual nature of we, the living, she said: “Acknowledging the uncertainty of life will enable us to recognize the potential for meaning in every moment. Our lives have meaning not despite the fragility of life, but because of it. We can learn to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow, because we are not immortal and must make the most of every minute on earth.”
Now an American citizen, Dr. Nyla draws inspiration from her homeland, the region of Kashmir on the west side of the Indian sub-continent.
Dr. Nyla said events in her native land and memories of days as a school girl in Kashmir combine in “the power to make my heart melt.” Among her motivations for writing the new book is a hope “the marginalized of that region can retain hope.” (Kashmir and Jummu was in the post-colonial era granted a semi-autonomous status, until the Indian government over recent years eroded that nation’s federalist system and concentrated power at the center of the nation.)
Dr. Nyla draws inspiration from students here and now, in Oklahoma and elsewhere.
While her book and her public comments are infused with memories of her father, she credited the “dignity and great self-confidence” of her mother, descended from a powerful Kashmiri political family, who made her family the center of her life for decades.
She tenderly praised the “creative rebelliousness” of her daughter, Iman, who was among the attendees.
Dialogue was sparked among the eclectic group of Oklahomans (and a pair of Peruvians). Many of those present shared brief testimonials. Those speaking for memorable moments before the evening’s close included Dr. Nyla’s husband, Faisal Khan.
Hosts for the event were Cindy Ruffel and her husband, Lance.
Some of Dr. Nyla’s colleagues from the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women (OCSW) were present, including Pat Carr (organizer for the event), Victoria Woods (chair of the commission), Riki Snyder (past chair), and Karen Sneary (OCSW secretary). Dr. Nyla is the group’s advisory council chair.
Academics at the gathering included Cathleen Skinner (state director, World Languages) and Candie McKee from OCCC, and Professor Steve Morrow. Enrique Villar-Gambetta, consul to Oklahoma for the nation of Peru, and his son Ignacio were there. Joan Korenblit of the Respect Diversity Foundation graced the assembly along with her twin, Joy Bravo.
Others in the group were: Andrea Holmes Voltura, longtime employee at the state Auditor and Inspector’s office, as well as Rebecca Thompson, legal minds Robert C. Thompson and Judge Steve Haynes, as well as Kayla Bellmon Loount, Blue Clark, Germaine Odenheimer, Mike Hoskins, Adeline Yerkes, and Debbie South.
With inspirations from Kashmir and Oklahoma, from Viktor Frankl and her family, Nyla Khan creates Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
The City Sentinel, Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, filed an interim study request Tuesday (June 29) to examine the benefits of ending the state sales tax on groceries.
Eliminating the tax was a key component of House Democrats' Oklahoma Focused Budget this past session. The elimination would save Oklahomans, many of whom are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, more than $250 million in taxes on groceries.
“Ending the grocery tax keeps money in the pocket of low and middle-income Oklahomans,” Virgin said. “We have parents who are stretching every dollar to be able to feed their children. They shouldn’t have to calculate a cut for the state in their grocery bill.”
Oklahoma is one of only 13 states that impose a tax on groceries. Only three states make their citizens pay a higher tax than Oklahoma.
“Thirty-seven states fund their government without a tax on milk and bread,” Virgin said. “Oklahoma can too.”
The Democratic leader wants to spend time looking at the economic benefits of ending the state’s sales tax on groceries.
“We have heard from grocery stores that this would help them,” Virgin said. “We want to use this study to find out to what degree."
Ending the tax has bipartisan support among both voters and lawmakers.
“We have seen statements from Republican lawmakers that seem to support ending the grocery tax,” Virgin said. “When our caucus put out the Oklahoma Focused Budget, we received positive feedback from constituents of all parties. It is a popular idea, but most important, it is good policy.”
Editor’s Note: In Oklahoma, Interim Study requests are considered by the Speaker of the House every summer. Speaker Charles McCall accepted requests for interim studies from members of both parties through June 25. He is expected to announce a list of approved studies by July 23, 2021. In the past, the Interim Study process has laid the basis for many legislative proposals eventually enacted into law.
www.City-Sentinel.com
House Minority Leader Emily Virgin requests study on ending state grocery tax Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, filed a request last week for an interim study focused on improving the lives of Oklahomans living with a disability.
Dollens hopes to use the study to examine the possible creation of the Oklahoma Disability Fund and how the fund, through innovative grants and initiatives, could make the state more accessible and equitable for Oklahomans who face disability.
“This Oklahoma Disability Fund could be a catalyst to changing the way Oklahoma serves citizens affected by disabilities,” Dollens said. “By empowering local initiatives through grants, we can hopefully find new solutions to increase the quality of life for many Oklahomans.”
Dollens recognizes that this fund isn’t a silver bullet but does see it as potentially more than a band-aid for the disability-related issues facing many Oklahomans.
“Like much of our state government, this community needs adequate resources,” Dollens said.
“This fund wouldn’t replace any funds going to agencies who serve Oklahomans with a disability. I have and will continue to advocate that those agencies receive more resources.
“What this study will look into are new funding sources, identifying project initiatives, and exploring how the Oklahoma Disability Fund could work with existing service providers to help improve the lives of Oklahomans.”
Editor’s Note: In Oklahoma, Interim Study requests are considered by the Speaker of the House every summer. Speaker Charles McCall accepted requests for interim studies from members of both parties through June 25. He is expected to announce a list of approved studies by July 23, 2021. In the past, the Interim Study process has laid the basis for many legislative proposals eventually enacted into law.
www.City-Sentinel.com
Disability Fund Focus of Interim Study request from Rep. Mickey Dollens Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK |
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