Big Profits. Good Jobs. Strong Families.
Our proposal connects a large corporation’s tax rate to its profits and the good-paying Oklahoma jobs it supports.
Economic development should help people build a life, pay the bills, raise a family, and prepare for retirement.
When Oklahoma considers corporate success, we should ask how much of that success reaches working households.
Why I’m Proposing This
Since learning about Rockefeller and Standard Oil in American history class, I’ve thought about how to connect corporate wealth with responsibility to working people.
Think about the evolution of the tractor. Machinery transformed agricultural work. Today, automation and artificial intelligence are transforming office, administrative, and technical work.
As technology advances, our tax system should encourage companies to share those benefits through employment, better wages, training opportunities, and employee ownership.
How It Would Work
Reward Good-Paying Oklahoma Jobs.
Large corporations supporting more employment at a living wage relative to their Oklahoma taxable profits would qualify for a lower corporate tax rate.
Require Greater Contributions When Profits Support Fewer Jobs.
Large corporations generating substantial Oklahoma taxable profits while supporting relatively few good-paying Oklahoma jobs would pay a higher rate within a published schedule.
Recognize Investment in Workers.
Verified spending on paid apprenticeships, recognized training programs, and broad employee profit-sharing or ownership could qualify for additional, capped credits.
What Counts as a Good-Paying Job?
We would establish a published living-wage benchmark reflecting local costs and update it annually.
Employment would be measured using hours worked and wages paid throughout the year.
Each worker’s contribution to the formula would be capped so that one highly compensated executive could not count as hundreds of adequately paid employees.
The same wage standard would apply regardless of marital status or family circumstances.
We would also monitor Oklahoma’s median household income to determine whether families are truly getting ahead.
Protect Small Businesses and Close Loopholes
The proposal would establish a reasonable threshold distinguishing large corporations from small businesses.
Related companies would be counted together to prevent corporations from splitting operations into subsidiaries solely to avoid qualification.
Rules would address outsourcing, temporary staffing arrangements, profit shifting, and duplicate credits.
Any tax adjustments would be phased in gradually to avoid sudden penalties when a company crosses a reporting threshold.
Put Technology’s Benefits to Work for People
Additional revenue generated by this system could support worker training, retraining, apprenticeship programs, and household economic security.
A People’s Machine Dividend could also be considered as part of a future framework.
Any dividend would depend upon actual revenues, public financial analysis, and legislative approval.
Let the People Examine the Plan
As Governor, I would propose legislation and bring the choices before Oklahomans through the People’s App.
Before finalizing rates and thresholds, an independent analysis would be published evaluating likely effects on wages, hiring, state revenue, prices, and business investment.
That review should account for differences among industries and identify potential unintended consequences.
After implementation, public reporting and independent review would help determine whether the policy is achieving its intended goals.
Important Notice
This is a proposed framework.
Final rates, eligibility requirements, implementation details, and any resulting programs would require public review, legislative approval, economic analysis, and legal review.
Our Principle
Corporate success should help build household security.
Economic growth should not be measured solely by corporate profits.
It should also be measured by whether Oklahoma families are able to prosper, save, build wealth, and create a better future for their children.
When businesses succeed and workers succeed together, Oklahoma succeeds.
It’s a WE thing, not a ME thing.
Robert E. Brooks
Independent Candidate for Governor of Oklahoma