Posted on 01/20/2013 6:04:56 PM PST by manic4organic
This report lays out the case for elimination of the franchise tax. Part II of this report (which is forthcoming) advocates for a transition Be Bold Texas! Franchise Tax Report
Be Bold Texas! Franchise Tax Report (PDF)
away from property taxes to consumption taxes to fund the maintenance and operations of public schools. That report will also make the case for a lower property tax appraisal cap or property tax revenue cap to provide homeowners and business owners with relief from inexorable appraisal growth. Taken together, these reforms would represent a substantial transformation of the state’s tax structure, and thus, the state economy.
The fundamental point is that Texas has an opportunity to make a bold fiscal move by eliminating a tax or by substantially reducing a tax. Precisely how this is to be achieved can be determined by policy makers; this report simply lays out a path forward and illustrates the economic benefit of starting down that path.
To that end, the state’s franchise tax and school district maintenance and operations (M&O) property tax must be the focus of tax relief efforts. By cutting taxes now, Texas can create substantial dynamic economic benefits that will pay dividends in the future, bringing increased economic activity:
If Texas cuts taxes right now, it will encourage all the more business and entrepreneurship, on top of what has already occurred, without jeopardizing current governmental operations. Indeed, a virtuous circle will unfold in which tax cuts make the state ever more attractive, generating receipts that can bring about yet another tax cut down the line.
This report lays out the path to providing this kind of tax relief and illustrates the valid and defensible economic benefits of undertaking such an approach.
On behalf of TCCRI’s State Taxation and Revenue Task Force, the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University undertook dynamic fiscal and economic analyses of eliminating or substantially reducing the franchise tax, and of transitioning from property taxes to consumption taxes to fund public schools.
As outlined in detail in this report, either one of these reforms would produce substantial economic benefits for the state by creating jobs, attracting higher levels of business investment, and increasing disposable personal income. These recommended reforms would also establish a more efficient and less punitive tax structure for the state.
I'll bet he thinks Austin could go on a diet.
/johnny
> “How do you build a State or a country with kids that can’t do basic math?” <<
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I’ve had to slog through a project with 2 guys that had BS in engineering One from Tex, one from Colorado), but couldn’t do math beyond plain arithmetic. The US is in big hurt academically.
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One bright spot story I'll share, is that one of my sorta step-daughters just graduated from UT with a petro degree. She had worked for me as an intern at an internet company, and she really did learn the math. Every bit that was required.
One conference room white board looked like something out of university most of the time.
We got a win on that one.
I know 10 more that can't/won't for that one that did.
/johnny
I think we would all be much better off if we privatized the whole thing. Government does not do education very well.
I will give them killing people and breaking things. They do that ok, if you can get all the airmen pointed in the right direction..... Been there, done that.
I propose a radical idea: Return government to it's limited form described in old documents.
Yeah. I know. It's krazy. But that would work for me.
/johnny
Same here in Williamson County. Two property tax increases pushed by the local gub’mint this year and passed by the low information crowd that falls for the threat of losing gub’mint services and school sports programs. It’s insane. A large segment of the populace here are illegals who pay no property tax and work for cash only.
Medina was a KOOK!
Yes,Yes,Yes!!! When my great aunt had to sell of part of her family farm every couple of years to pay the property taxes, I realized that nobody actually owns their home; they are just renters and the the government is the landlord. If you miss a “rent” payment (property taxes), you are evicted. Even if you owned the land before there was even a United States and had paid taxes on it for over two centuries.
In this electronic age, a replacement consumption tax is possible that answers the locality issue. Your credit card with zip plus four info would direct the taxes to your locality, no matter where you spent the money in the state (reciprocal state agreements?). If you use cash, then just give the cashier you zip. If you decline for privacy reasons, then the tax would go to the state to be sent back to the localities evenly.
This is a fundamental freedom issue of actually owning your land (property rights).
I wish we would and it would be the smartest thing to do. I do not think the powers that be will do anything before the government is out of money and has to radically cut spending back. I suspect that things will get very ugly when that happens.
As was mentioned upthread, Texas has a weak governor's seat. It wouldn't really matter if she were a "kook", would it?
Medina, who has literally come out of nowhere to quickly become a legitimate candidate in the Republican primary, first laughed when Beck said he had received emails from listeners saying she was a "9/11 truther."
"That's the first time I've heard of that accusation," she said, not exactly denying the charge.
Government conspiracy?
So Beck asked her straight up: "Do you believe the government was in any way involved in the bringing down of the World Trade Centers on 9/11?"
Easy answer, right? Nope.
"I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard," Medina replied. "There are some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all of the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that."
That answer caused a stir in the studio. Beck quickly followed up by asking her if she would disavow any of her staff if they were "9/11 truthers."
"Well, you know, that's a federal issue. We're very focused on issues in Texas, on Texas state government," she said. "I'm certainly not into mind control or thought policing people. "We've got a very diverse team in this state and that's because Texans are standing shoulder to shoulder to support and defend the Constitution. I frankly don't have time, you know, to go through and do psychological testing on people and know every thought or detail that they have."
Yeah, so now tell me how Perry would have answered............
The simple fact is that a lot of people, to include those on this board and Glen Beck, quashed a lot of hopes for a new governor in the state of Texas who might have brought some needed changes instead of more of the same.
IMO- Perry is Bush 2.0. All for taxation, and he (Perry) is still looking for that big Texas sized legacy, especially since his ideas for the TTC and the giardasil debacle were beaten down.
I don’t need to get out of the corner. I’ll openly admit that I supported her run over Perry.
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