Are Oklahoma lawmakers held hostage through implied extortion, to protect tax credit fraud?
Nick Baker Fax: 214-572-7260 Contact Email: nite@prowlingowl.com Re: Oklahoma’s multi-$100 million per year tax credit abuse scam Numbers don’t lie. This is a revealing comparison between campaign funding and tax credits. According to 2006 Oklahoma election campaign filings the average state senate candidate spent $122,414 and house candidate $46,598 on campaigns. With elections ever 2 years that is an average yearly cost of $61,200 and $23,300 for the senate and house, respectively. Divide those cost into the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s report listing $236 million in 2007 investments that qualified for tax credits. The results are eye opening. The law allows taking $2 in tax credits for every $1 invested, increasing this to potentially $472 million. Only one penny out of each of those $236 million dollars for just one year, would fund the total campaign spending for one candidate for all 100 house seats. Those using loopholes to scam tax credits only need 51 to fear losing their seats.
