‘Zombie’ event staged at Oklahoma Capitol to support taxes

OKLAHOMA: Anti-tax “zombies” in Oklahoma were stopped outside the entrance to the State Capitol on Saturday in a staged event by groups supporting tax increases to prevent cuts to health, education and other services. The event by Together Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Policy Institute was filmed for videos to be posted on Facebook and Twitter and comes as state lawmakers are in special session to address a $215 million budget hole. Charles Martin of Together Oklahoma said the group supports increasing gross production taxes on oil and gas from 2 percent to 7 percent, which would raise an estimated $400 million. The increase has been opposed by the oil and gas industry. “Gross production should be the first place that we look,” Martin said. He said the group hopes that oil and gas companies and the wealthy should pay their fair share. Many Republican lawmakers oppose increasing taxes on oil and gas production and support a $1.50 per pack cigarette tax increase, which Democrats oppose without an energy production tax increase to at least 5 percent. The special session was called by Gov. Mary Fallin after the state Supreme Court ruled a “fee” on cigarettes passed on the final day of the regular legislative session was unconstitutional. The special session convened Sept. 25, but recessed two days later because a deal to close the budget hole had not been reached.

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