OK Rep Jay Steagall; Your Home And Your Income Are Constitutionally Protected Property

Michael and I were happy to have Oklahoma Rep. Jay Steagall join us for our podcast on December 11th to talk about property taxes – and also his bill to repeal the state income tax.

The conversation was nearly two hours so thanks to Rep. Steagall for sticking it out with us! Also, thanks to all the people who tuned in to participate in the discussion – at one point, we had SO MANY COMMENTS I couldn’t get them all on! Certainly, it was gratifying to see so many people interested in the issue of taxation in a ‘red state’! We hope you learned a lot from the discussion!

Please watch the full video on our YouTube and Rumble channels to get the full effect of the discussion and read Jay’s income tax bill, which can be found here. The Oklahoma State House press release about the bill, “Steagall Files Bill to Eliminate Income Tax by 2035” covers a good chunk of information about it, so check that out as well.

In the clip below, Jay talks about the fact that property taxes are a concept enshrined in the Oklahoma State Constitution – something that requires a different level of action from authoring and passing legislation.

So, Oklahomans are going to have to lobby their legislators to write a bill that would remove the ability for a state entity to collect property taxes, then, we’ll have to vote on it as a state question on a general election ballot. Frankly, that seems much easier to me than to collect signatures for an initiative petition to put a state question on the ballot. As Jay says, our income and our real property, are ours, so I would think legislators would jump at the chance to make sure the Constitutional Rights of their citizens were protected – right?

Jay talks a bit about his income tax bill below. Obviously, Oklahomans should support Jay’s efforts to remove the shackles from the ‘results of our industry’, so please make sure to follow developments regarding the bill – and we will too.

My husband and I kept my mother’s home after she passed. Above is a photo of the apportionment for that home in Oklahoma City. Please note that the largest percentage of monies paid via the taxes on this home is for Oklahoma City Public Schools.

Part of the reason I’m so rabidly against property taxes – outside of the largest, most unfair issue, which is that I’ll never actually own this home if I have to pay ‘rent’ to the government every year to consider it my personal property – is the fact that OKLAHOMA PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPRISE 53% of the entire state budget but yet the county ALSO taxes me for the school district in which the home resides. HOW MUCH MONEY DO SCHOOLS NEED?

Then consider this; at least three districts in Oklahoma – Kingfisher, Ninekaw and Wewoka – have been subjected to HUGE financial settlements resulting from situations in which school officials have been found guilty of essentially terrorizing students. Add to this the fact that Oklahoma public education has fallen to 49th in the nation. WHY ARE WE ENCUMBERING PROPERTY FOR THIS? REALLY? It’s horrifying.’

Interestingly, Kingfisher county Excise Board refused to encumber the property of Kingfisher Public School district residents to meet their financial obligation to the family of the boy who sued the head football coach for bullying. Instead, Kingfisher just let go 18 members of staff EXCEPT FOR THE COACH WHO WAS FOUND GUILTY OF BULLYING FOOTBALL PLAYERS.

Good for the Kingfisher County Excise Board! At least they put the oneness back on the school! But then, the school let go 18 positions and then kept the one that caused the other 18 to be let go.

Again…WHAT? Taxpayers are supposed to be able to lose their homes because public schools suck?

Truly, this is an issue of which ROPE won’t let go! Keep following! We’ll keep reporting on this nonsense in the REDDEST state…(insert eye-roll here).