On Tuesday, Gov. Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 1606, which will end the so-called double deduction for taxpayers who itemize their federal deductions.

Oklahoma income tax calculations begin with the taxpayers federal adjusted gross income.

Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their federal taxes are able to take out state and local taxes to get to that number. For decades, the state has allowed taxpayers to deduct state and local taxes paid again on the state return, a double deduction for the same cost and a handy little tax cut for middle- and upper-class Oklahomans.

Eliminating the double deduction will cost a lot of people money — a total of $97.3 million next year, according to the Oklahoma Tax Commission — and if it feels like a tax increase to those effected, that’s understandable. It certainly has the same effect. But those taxpayers are the same people who were the biggest beneficiaries of the state’s income tax rate reductions in recent years. The most recent cut meant a $147 million annual reduction in taxes paid.

All residents of the state have to recognize that paying sufficient taxes to support the core services of state government is not only unavoidable, it is essential.

We support SB 1606 as an equitable and progressive choice for the state.