Begins planning process for returning tax revenue back to taxpayers
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas My pledge is to
put taxpayers at the front of the line so they get served first said State Senator and Lt. Governor Candidate Dan Patrick earlier last week as he announced the creation of a new Tax Reform Task Force
composed of conservative grassroots leaders business leaders and tax policy experts. Members will be tasked with determining the best way to
return projected revenue surpluses to taxpayers.
According to early estimates from the Texas Comptrollers Office:
- The Texas Legislature will have a surplus of at least $2.6 billion in tax revenue when it convenes in 2015.
- The Rainy Day Fund (Economic Stabilization Fund) is projected to hold more than $8 billion by the fall of 2015.
The taxpayers of Texas tend to be the last ones invited to the table when revenue projections are
good and tax coffers are full" said Dan Patrick.
The Comptroller has put everyone on notice that Texans are paying more taxes than we need to pay for the current budget. We need to begin planning now on how to return that surplus before the special interests start spending it."
The task force will begin work immediately after the members are selected. Available resources will be used to gather data and ideas as a plan is produced to return surplus tax revenue to taxpayers.
Oil and gas activity and the Texas economy in general is expected to continue to flourish and provide ample revenue for the next budget cycle as well.
The Senate Finance Committee has been without a chairman since October 2013 and the committee hasnt met since August 2013" said Patrick.
We must start addressing these issues today."
As a State Senator Patrick proposed legislation to limit the growth of state spending to a rate below population growth and inflation as well as cutting taxes. Those bills cut the appraisal cap on homesteads lowered the revenue cap on local governments and reformed the rollback rate process to help voters.
In addition to returning surplus tax revenue as Lieutenant Governor Patrick is committed to lowering property taxes and forming this task force is a reflection of that fiscal philosophy.
