“The decision by Gov. Perry and the Texas Workforce Commission represents government transparency at its best – collect a tax for a particular purpose, and return to the taxpayers any excess funds that are not needed for that purpose. Texas employers have paid more money into the Unemployment Insurance trust fund than necessary, and Gov. Rick Perry has rightly decided to rebate those excess funds.
“The Texas unemployment system was structured so that employers would pay unemployment taxes when they were needed, and not to have billions of dollars idling indefinitely when employers could put them to more effective use for job creation, capital investment, and workforce development.
“We have seen the wisdom of that over the last two years, as employers have gotten their tax overpayments back and used it to grow their businesses. This foresighted, market-oriented approach has helped Texas to maintain strong job growth despite a slowing national economy.
“Numerous reports and rankings have designated Texas as one of the top states in the country for business. Low taxes, a respect for the entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to competitiveness have been huge reasons why Texas has added 1.6 million jobs in the last decade, leads the United States in exports, and attracts hundreds of thousands of new residents each year from other states.”
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