Closing loopholes

From the inbox, from Rep. Mike Villarreal:

Rep. Villarreal announced legislation to close a $20 million corporate tax giveaway, citing it as an example of how the state’s outmoded tax system created the current fiscal crisis.

“With the state’s fiscal crisis threatening our ability to educate our children, there is no excuse for wasting money on corporate tax loopholes,” said Rep. Villarreal.

The bill, HB 658, would eliminate an obscure tax refund provided to businesses that receive property tax breaks from cities or counties. The Legislature established the refund in 1995 as a temporary way to reimburse companies after the state ended their school property tax abatements. However, the state never eliminated the refund. As a result, new companies that were never “victims” of the elimination of the school district tax breaks continue to sign-up to receive compensation if they have city and county tax abatements.

“State leaders have failed to take responsibility for ending corporate tax loopholes, creating the current financial crisis that threatens funding for our schools,” explained Rep. Villarreal.

The text of the bill is here. Given the massive, job-reducing impact of the Pitts budget, it seems to me we can ask a few corporations to give up a “temporary” tax break that was supposed to have expired years ago to help mitigate that just a teeny bit.

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