Guthrie Rep Jason Murphey is fighting a new “services” tax by suggesting its proponents are all too eager to have the state continue to be dependent on what he calls the “capricious whims” of the energy sector.
Writing in the McCarville Report, the legislator put it this way, “If I were a sneaky out-of-state resident who desired to sabotage Oklahoma and ensure its continued dependence upon the capricious whims of the energy sector, I should think my best strategy of attack would be to propose the creation of a new Oklahoma “services” tax.”
He contends the new tax undoes some of Oklahoma’s economic strengths and requires it greater dependence “upon the energy sector by poorly positioning the state for future economic growth.”
Rep. Murphey says the tax shows a shocking disregard for the state’s ability to evolve with the modern economy and how it could harm the state’s natural advantage of a low cost of living.
“Unfortunately, a cash hungry and archaic state government is considering taking away this advantage,” wrote Murphey.
