Each session of the Texas Legislature always seems to have a
theme. I will never forget the 70th Legislature during the height of the crash
in oil prices and real estate during the mid to late 1980s. What defined that
session was slashing the budget by billions and increasing taxes by more than $5
billion. The 71st Legislature in 1989 was focused primarily on the state’s
failing Workers Compensation system and development of the state’s new provider
as a last resort. Of course one of my most painful legislative experiences
began during the 79th Legislature in 2005. I had just left the state
comptroller’s office as Carol Strayhorn’s legislative liaison and was settling
in to my new job as NFIB/Texas State Director when lawmakers presented a plan
to replace the state franchise tax with a payroll tax of up to $1,500 per
employee per year! Of course, with your help and the help of thousands of NFIB
members we were able to kill that horrible tax; however, the subsequent special
sessions that followed into 2006 produced what is now known as the Texas
Margins Tax – the most despised tax ever enacted.
The question then remains, what’s the theme for the 84th Legislature
currently in progress? TAX RELIEF – and a lot of it! The Senate has passed relief in the form of
property tax cuts for homeowners and reforms to the Margins tax totaling about
$4.5 billion. The House Ways and Means committee met on Tuesday to lay out tax
relief from the state Sales and Use tax by lowering the rate from the current
6.25% to 5.95% and giving Margins taxpayers an across the board 25% cut in
their tax liabilities.
Since the Margins tax inception, NFIB/Texas has been working
hard to enact meaningful tax relief. Key among the reforms we have sought have
included raising the small business exemption and lowering the rate of the
Margins tax that business owners must pay. The conclusion is, Texas lawmakers
have heard the NFIB/Texas message but more importantly, they have heard from you!
You and others in the small business community have played the crucial
role in bringing about this debate and it is a debate that has been long in
coming, but is sure to be one that benefits Texas taxpayers, the Texas small
business community, and the Texas economy as a whole.
Thank you for all your efforts and activism.
Will Newton
NFIB/Texas Executive Director
