Governor Greg Abbott Delivered State of the State Address to the 85th Legislative Session
(AUSTIN, TX) Jan. 31, 2017 — National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)/Texas, the state’s leading small business association, issued the following statement in response to today’s State of the State Address delivered by Governor Greg Abbott to the 85th Texas Legislature.
“NFIB is pleased that Governor Abbott specifically addressed three of our five main small business priorities for this session including favoritism for labor unions, tax relief, and regulatory relief,” said Will Newton, NFIB/Texas Executive Director. “Thank you for hearing the voice of small business in Texas, Governor Abbott. As Texas lawmakers go to work this session, we ask that they too keep the 2.4 million small business owners in mind that employ more than 4.4 million Texans. What’s good for small business is good for the Texas economy.”
Governor Abbott stated in today’s address “Another way for Texas to grow jobs is by cutting taxes and regulations on business. Ben Franklin said the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. As far as I’m concerned, the only good tax is a dead tax. We must continue to cut the business franchise tax until it fits in a coffin,” and “While we are cleaning up government, we should end the practice of government deducting union dues from the paychecks of employees. Taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to support the collection of union dues. Sen. Huffman and Rep. Sarah Davis have a good bill that addresses this problem. Let’s get it to my desk.”
NFIB/Texas has 21,000 dues-paying members representing a cross-section of the state’s economy from agriculture, construction, and manufacturing to wholesale, retail, and services. Additionally, NFIB/Texas membership is 96 percent comprised of businesses who have 40 employees or less and is the largest association advocating for small business in the Capitol.
For more information visit bit.ly/2017TXSmallBizTop5
