Texas GOP plan to TAX Jobs - Payroll Tax Hike for Business

[Avalon Sparks]

In order to raise money for education and CUT property taxes (projected cut about $1000.00 on a $200,000 house or in other words 0.5%)

This is the plan:

The proposal offers a massive tax swap: $5.5 billion a year in school property tax reductions in exchange for an increase in state taxes on sales, motor vehicle sales and cigarettes, along with a new payroll tax that would replace the state's loophole-ridden business franchise tax.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/030305dntextaxes.2a38a.html


The basics:

1.1% tax for business on each employee with cap at salary of 80,000. (cap of $880.00 per year)

Increase sales tax (except on food and medicine) from 6.25 to 7.2 (15% increase)

Increase cigarette tax, heard about 1 dollar a pack, article isn't clear on amount.

1.25% tax increase on telephone service

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SO I did my own calculations:

On my husband and myself's combined salary our employers are going to have to pay $710 dollars tax for our labor. Of course this will come out of our pockets because either we won't get a raise this April, or they'll add that much to our health insurance portion that we pay. Either way, it will hit the us, the workers.

6 dollars or so more on the phone a year. Would be 12 bucks if we had a mobile phone too.

If we spend 30K (a little more than the price of a car) a year on things that can be taxed that's $300 more sales tax will pay.

So I'm up to about $1,016 dollars taxes with this plan (lucky I don't smoke)

The property tax we'll supposedly save on our house - $825.00

It's a good thing for the Texas GOP that due to the poor educational system in this country/state that so many Texans can't do basic math.

[Enquiringkitty]

1. That sounds terrible!!! Is this a proposal or has it already past?

[Avalon Sparks]

5. It's just a proposal

That made it out of commitee...

Actually would make my sales tax in Dallas 9.2 cents for every dollar spent. Granted we don't have a state income tax.

What kind of effect would that have on the economy? Higher sales taxes, a tax on jobs?????

After reading more papers this morning, I realized that it's only a bid to decrease property taxes, it won't increase education money. Also, there is no provision for landlords to pass this decrease onto their tenants.

So those high salaried million dollar McMansion owners will get an average decrease of 400 a month on their property taxes, while their wages are only taxed up to 80,000. So that's all they'll have to 'payback' ($880) to their employers in the form of decreased raises or increases on health insurance. Any salary they make over 80,000 won't be hit.

This is a blatent way to give a tax decrease to the rich, and increase taxes on the middle and lower classes.

This is so screwed up.

[RobertSeattle]

2. "state's loophole-ridden business franchise tax. "

Then why not fix or close the loopholes? Oh, you wrote the loopholes for your big political contributers? I see.

[Avalon Sparks]

3. Kick

Kick

[Ishoutandscream]

4. The Texas Legislature is in session (shudder)

It's never good news when these idiots get together. They always fuck something up.