R Street praises Texas budget bill
AUSTIN, Texas (May 28, 2015) – The R Street Institute praised the Texas Legislature today for both providing tax relief and restraining spending growth in the new state budget.
The budget bill increases spending by less than 6.5%, which is the rate of increase in population and inflation.
The Legislature also is set to approve two tax relief measures later this week: a House bill that would cut the state’s business franchise tax by 25 percent and expand the “EZ file” system to reduce compliance costs, and a Senate bill that would raise the homestead exemption for the state’s property tax by $10,000.
“Tax relief and spending restraint go hand in hand,” said Josiah Neeley, R Street’s Texas state director. “All too often, tax relief is left as an afterthought in the budget-writing process, leaving meager – if any – funds available for tax cuts.”
The conference report for the budget could be voted on as early as tonight and sent to the governor for signature.
“This budget is a result of continuous discipline on the part of lawmakers to deliver a budget that is both fiscally restrained and that allows for significant tax relief.”
