Finance Committee Passes Bill to Speed Up Elimination of Death Tax

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – The State Senate Finance Committee voted 6-5 today to advance Senate Bill 1383 out of committee and to the Senate floor for debate. SB 1383 is a bill to speed up the elimination of the death tax in Oklahoma that will have no impact on the upcoming budget year.

State Senator Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher and Senator Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, praised the passage of SB 1383 by the Senate Finance Committee.

“The death tax remains a burden to farmers and small businesses in rural Oklahoma, and Senate Republicans believe this tax should be eliminated sooner rather than later. It’s encouraging to have advanced a bill that will help rural Oklahoma,” said Justice, the chairman of the Senate Republican Rural Caucus.

“It’s a tight budget year, so we structured this bill to not impact the upcoming budget. It’s hopeful to see that some families may soon see relief from the burden of the death tax,” stated Johnson, the bill’s author.

SB 1383 would eliminate the death tax on January 1, 2009. Under current law, the death tax, also known as the estate tax, won’t be phased out until 2010.