Published: 12-18-07
Dallas- State Representative Phil King of Weatherford Texas recently proposed a plan to replace property taxes with consumption taxes as the main source of funding for public schools. “Replacing property taxes with consumption taxes is a priority for Texans” said Kelly Shackelford President of the Free Market Foundation. “Property taxes produce a new bill every year which means Texans never really own their own homes. The government does. That is akin to socialism.”
Rep. King is proposing a constitutional amendment to abolish the school maintenance and operations portion of taxes that are paid on property and instead replace lost revenues with a state consumption tax.
The plan would result in a 56 tax cut for every Texan.
The goal of Rep. King’s constitutional amendment is to prohibit the use of property taxes to pay for schools. Rather than relying upon property owners a consumption tax would rely upon all Texans including illegal aliens to fund public education.
“The switch from property taxes to consumption taxes is long overdue in Texas” explained Shackelford. “Consumption taxes are a more reliable transparent and just way to fund our public schools. This would be a huge improvement for Texas.”
On his tax position King has the support of a number of leading fiscal conservatives in Texas including Kelly Shackelford of the Free Market Foundation Michael Quinn Sullivan of the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform.
He follows in the footsteps of former House Appropriations Chairman Republican Talmadge Heflin who was a strong advocate of the tax switch.
Free Market Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to protecting freedoms and strengthening families. For more information visit our website at www.freemarket.org.
