Bill: HB 500, 83(R) - 2013

Vote Recommendation

Vote Recommendation Economic Freedom Property Rights Personal Responsibility Limited Government Individual Liberty
Yes Neutral Positive Neutral Positive Neutral

Author(s)

Harvey Hilderbran

Bill Caption

Relating to the franchise tax.

Fiscal Notes

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB500, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: an impact of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2015. Additionally, the bill will have a direct impact of a revenue loss to the Property Tax Relief Fund of ($396,768,000) for the 2014-15 biennium. Any loss to the Property Tax Relief Fund must be made up with an equal amount of General Revenue to fund the Foundation School Program.

Bill Analysis

Summary: HB 500 provides numerous tax exemptions to the franchise tax. HB 500 would:

HB 500 will have a revenue cost of approximately $396 million to the Property Tax Relief Fund. $396 million will have to be taken out of General Revenue to fund the Foundation School Program.

Analysis: HB 500 demonstrates the burden the franchise tax places on Texas businesses. Our preferred approach to tax relief would be a comprehensive approach that makes the tax structure low rate, broad based, and visible. The fact that the Legislature recognizes the need to make targeted tax cuts amounts to a tacit admission that the tax is too high in the first place. Rather than taking an incremental approach to tax relief that benefits some businesses but not others, the Legislature should find a way to lower taxes for everyone, or better yet, eliminate the franchise tax altogether.

Despite the fact that this legislation does not take our preferred approach to tax cuts, we support HB 500 because it will limit the amount of revenue government can take in, if only for the few industries stipulated, and it will keep dollars in the private sector, promoting the property rights of Texas businesses. Vote “yes,” on HB 500.

 


Source URL (retrieved on 03/28/2024 12:03 PM): http://reports.texasaction.com/bill/83r/hb500?print_view=true