' Marriage penalty' measure stalls in state House

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state House committee is postponing action on a proposal to do away with the so-called "marriage penalty" in state income taxes.<br/><br/>Members of the Revenue and Taxation Committee

Thursday, February 10th 2005, 6:10 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state House committee is postponing action on a proposal to do away with the so-called "marriage penalty" in state income taxes.

Members of the Revenue and Taxation Committee postponed action after some lawmakers expressed concern about how much money the bill would cost the state and what affect it might have on common law marriages.

Representative Pam Peterson of Tulsa sponsored the bill, saying it would encourage couples to marry by eliminating the tax penalty they pay by filing a joint tax return.

The legislation allows couples to compute their taxes as individuals, then add the amounts due on their return together.

But the bill would reduce state revenue by almost $55-million a year.

The committee will reconsider the measure next week.

The measure is House Bill 1256.