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Texas Tax Reform Commission in Houston Wednesday
The Texas Tax Reform Commission will hold a public hearing this Wednesday, March 8, at Texas Southern University beginning at 10:00 AM. The hearing will be held in the 2nd Floor Auditorium of the Roderick R. Paige Education Building on the TSU Campus, 3100 Cleburne. The Texas Tax Reform Commission is the latest commission to study the tax system in Texas. Members were appointed by Governor Perry. The commission is chaired by fomer Comptroller John Sharp. The commission has no official authority. However, the Governor is expected to incorporate recommendations of the commission into any proposal he makes to an upcoming special session of the Legislature on school funding. Mr. Sharp and Governor Perry told a group of Harris County legislators recently that the commission is only looking at raising enough new state revenue to offset proposed reductions in school property taxes. The commission is not anticipating that its proposals will increase the total money available to fund schools. The governor said that any increase in school funding would have to wait for another day. The recent school funding ruling by the Texas Supreme Court said that total funds available to schools are adequate to meet minimum Constitutional requirements. But, the Court made it clear that shortfalls in the state funding have driven local property taxes up, and that failing to provide additional state funding to meet the growing needs of schools and the mandates of "No Child Left Behind" could quickly land the system back in court. The commission is primarily looking at revising the state's business tax to raise additional revenue. The current business tax is only collected from corporations, not from partnerships or sole proprietors. In 1997, then-Governor George Bush proposed closing the partnership loophole, after seeing successful companies like Dell Computer avoid paying the Texas franchise tax by organizing as a partnership in Texas which is, in turn, owned by a corporation set up in another state. After Mr. Bush's proposal was blocked in the Republican-controlled Senate, most other large Texas corporations changed to partnerships to avoid the tax. I have been told that there is no specific agenda for this hearing. If you want to testify, or just see where the discussion leads, you can show up without making any prior arrangements. The commission has some information about what they are discussing on their web site at http://ttrc.state.tx.us. As always, I'll be happy to try to get you any additional information you may need.
Scott Hochberg
Your contribution to the Scott Hochberg Campaign will help keep Scott working for us in the Texas House. You can contribute any amount using your credit card or Paypal account via our secure electronic payment system. Sorry, no contributions are allowed from corporations. While we must report your contribution under Texas ethics laws, your email address will remain private. We must have your full name and address on all contributions. Contributions identified only by an email address cannot be accepted. State law also requires us to use best efforts to collect and report the principal occupation (or job title) and full name of employer of individuals whose contributions equal or exceed $500 in a reporting period. If you are contributing $500 or more during any six-month period, please include your occupation and employer in the space provided on the contribution screen.
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