Legislature ends state grocery sales tax: groceries to get slightly cheaper (at least temporarily)

The Oklahoma State Senate voted today 42-2 to end the state's 4.5% sales tax applied to groceries, sending the measure to Governor Kevin Stitt for his signature (the House voted 88-7 to pass HB1955 last year, meaning the bill was still eligible for Senate action this session). The change will likely take effect in August.

Local sales tax on groceries still applies; Locally assessed sales taxes on groceries will remain unchanged by the law through June 30th, 2025, after which point it seems counties and municipalities can change their rates (... which I'm sure they will).

1889 Institute: "Food Deserts" are not a crisis

“FOOD DESERTS” ARE NOT A CRISIS

Tulsa and OKC City Councils just don’t like choices people make

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (March 2, 2020) – The 1889 Institute has published “’Food Deserts’ – Health Crisis or Mere Inconvenience?” In it, 1889 Research Fellow, Mike Davis, makes the case that “food deserts” are not the crisis that they have been portrayed to be in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. This means recent zoning regulations limiting small-box “dollar” stores are detrimental. Nevertheless, recommendations are made in the paper that would better address concerns regarding access to full-line grocery stores.

“To the extent that there is reason to be genuinely concerned about the nutrition of some Tulsa and Oklahoma City residents, studies show that it is not about access to traditional grocery stores,” said Davis. “Private transportation options are readily available in addition to underutilized public ones, so the real issue is the preferences of residents as reflected by their buying habits. Besides, the non-perishable food items already available at small-box dollar stores in these neighborhoods are just as nutritious as their perishable counterparts,” he said.

In his paper, Davis points out that the new zoning restrictions create an opportunity for existing dollar stores to raise their prices, hurting the very people the regulations are purported to help. While the idea of the restrictions is to limit competition for full-line grocery stores and encourage their entry into an area, potential competition is only one of many reasons a grocery might not be located in the targeted areas.

“My recommendations are all about de-regulating rather than piling on more regulation. New regulation always involves unintended consequences,” Davis said. “Keeping regulations from getting in the way of private transportation solutions, having the cities pick up the tab for cleaning dilapidated buildings off land where a grocery store will be located, and getting out of the way of the development of community gardens would be more productive than the zoning regulations,” he said.


About the 1889 Institute
The 1889 Institute is an Oklahoma think tank committed to independent, principled state policy fostering limited and responsible government, free enterprise and a robust civil society. The publication, “’Food Deserts’ – Health Crisis or Mere Inconvenience?” can be found on the nonprofit’s website at https://1889institute.org/corporate-welfare-1.

The Conservative View: Hurry Up and Sign

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner.

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Hurry Up and Sign

All of us have experienced a pushy salesman. Whether we are shopping for an automobile or furniture, there is always a good supply of salesmen that will pressure you to sign the bottom line because the good deal is a onetime offer. We need to remind ourselves that there is always a good deal around the corner. When I bought my last computer, I thought that the price had bottomed out and I would never be able to buy the computer I needed for less money. In less than two months, I could have bought a computer with much more memory at a far cheaper price. Before we get into the frenzy of the moment, we need to look at all options available. The latest frenzy is the health care debate and, just like buying a lemon car, we could be paying a high price for signing the bottom line too soon.

We Americans are notorious for wanting a good deal. We are also notorious for not wanting to pay for the things we need, but we are willing to pay any price for luxury items that we only want. I have noticed that many people don’t have a good concept of running a business or paying their bills. When you look at some of their credit card statements, many people have went so far into debt they cannot make their payments and don’t have a clue to how they got there and how to solve the problem. I have found that for us to have anything of value, we must use discipline to acquire them. For example, if we want a new car a person might have to get a second job or cut back on some other expense to save the money to purchase it.

I feel that many Americans don’t want to be bothered about health care and would rather the government take care of it. They also think that when they need a doctor all they would have to do is to go to the local clinic and not pay anything. Without some type of sacrifice by the patient our system would be totally swamped. I am concerned about catastrophic illness, but for the run of the mill ailments we need to be willing to take care of it ourselves. We need to remember that signing too fast can be far worse than what we have now.

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