Texas House to debate tax cut that would hit public schools
The Texas House will debate a tax phase-out on Thursday that would likely thrill business owners while cutting funds for public schools.
House Bill 28, authored by state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, would cut the unpopular “franchise tax” paid by businesses. The proposal would not reduce the tax during the current penny-pinching legislative session, but it would do so in future years.
Ultimately, Bonnen’s proposal seeks to eliminate the franchise tax, which brings in nearly $8 billion every two-year budget cycle, altogether. According to the Texas Comptroller’s office, about $1.8 billion of that money goes to the Property Tax Relief Fund, which pays for public schools.
While in later years the tax cut would affect the entire state budget, in the first few years under Bonnen’s proposal, that funding would come directly from the Property Tax Relief Fund. “At first, it’s coming exclusively out of schools,” said Dick Lavine, a fiscal analyst with the liberal-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/04/27/texas-house-debate-tax-cut-would-hit-public-schools/
