Achieving Tax Relief
Kel is convinced that the only way to address the burden of increasing property taxes is through school finance reform, which he is working tirelessly to achieve with other leaders in the Senate.
Kel is a fiscal conservative who bases his decisions on conservative principles. During the most recent legislative session, Senator Seliger filed a bill to lower the tax burden on the oil and gas industry. The Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) gets more than 85 percent of its revenue from crude oil and natural gas production taxes. The ESF’s huge present balance, almost $11 billion, is largely due to recent growth in oil and gas tax collections. The Fund was intended to be used for economic stabilization but has not been used for that purpose in recent years. Senate Joint Resolution 41, filed by Seliger, would have reduced the rate of severance taxes and suspended transfers into the ESF when the balance exceeds $5 billion. Although the measure did not pass, Kel plans to file it again next session, with the objective of creating more jobs and stimulating the economy.
In total, Kel has cut state taxes a total of $5 billion dollars. He has also passed a balanced state budget every session without raising taxes once. Kel knows we can get the job done by upholding the principles of fiscal conservatism.