AUSTIN – The Texas Senate yesterday passed the Committee Substitute for House Bill 32 that provides $2.6 billion in business franchise tax cuts by permanently reducing the tax rates by 25 percent and raising the ceiling to $20 million to file the EZ form at a lower 0.331 percent tax rate. The Foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued the following statement:
“The action yesterday by the Senate to address the onerous business franchise tax is a huge win for Texans. Though businesses pay this tax directly, individuals suffer the consequences of this tax through the form of higher prices, lower wages, and fewer jobs available. Though our research and others show that the best economic policy is to eliminate this tax, a 25 percent cut along with the increase in the ceiling to file the EZ form is a terrific combination to reduce the burdens of paying and complying with the tax. Making this the largest part of the tax package is a good outcome for Texans, particularly the working poor, to benefit from more prosperity and jobs.”
Vance Ginn, Ph.D. is an Economist in the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.