HillCo Partners is dedicated to providing you with updates on the issues and news. From time to time, the musings of key elected officials may provide a brief glimpse into what might become an issue in the coming legislative session. The statements below by Senator Steve Ogden constitute a case in point. The mere mention of broadening taxes – removing current exemptions – gives all those who participate in the political process reason to pay particular attention to revenue measures especially when there will be a budget shortfall this next session.
On April 3rd, Senator Steve Ogden (Chair, Senate Finance) recently spoke with Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau chief Peggy Fikac. During the Sunday Question and Answer article, Ogden noted that the sales tax system is “rickety in the sense that sales tax laws are very confusing, and there are more exemptions than there are items subject to the sales tax, and we would do ourselves some good if we went in there and cleaned up that statute. … I personally think if we had a broader-base, lower-rate sales tax it would improve things in Texas. But there’s a key in there. I mean, if you broaden the base, you can lower the rate. I’m not trying to raise taxes.”
To read the complete Sunday Q & A article, please visit: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6943097.html