Lege Suggested the Education Commission
By Karl-Thomas Musselman
This summer, in an amendment to the Property Tax Bill offered by Sens. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, and Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth (originally designed to strip the partnership tax from the bill because it 'looked like an income tax on professionals') a 15 member commission was suggested to study business taxes in the interim. The last time such a commission was actually formed was in 1991 where one of its suggestions was to create a state income tax.
The concept of creating commissions is not really a novel concept in itself. In addition, in the case of school finance in Texas, it's an excuse for non-existent leadership. Perry doesn't have a clue so he's creating a commission to look into it while removing Sharp from the picture. The lege didn't have a clue so Republicans suggested a commission to look into later. I don't know if Chris Bell had a clue either when he suggested the idea, though it did get rid of a primary opponent.
The commission itself is a symbol of failed political leadership in Texas and the fact elected officials don't want to take responsibility for suggesting the tough tax proposals. Better to let the commission suggest it, and implement it (or bash it) without taking any personal heat and all the credit.
Posted by Karl-Thomas Musselman at September 21, 2005 04:32 PM
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"The commission itself is a symbol of failed political leadership in Texas and the fact elected officials don't want to take responsibility for suggesting the tough tax proposals."
You got it too! The real problem is the real solution is taxes on the special interests but the legislature listens to them. Not to us. So special session after special session after special session we will be treated to more impasse over finding ways to tax us and not tax them. Leadership listens to the public interest. Not the special interests who could care less about the public interest.
The average Texan is fed up with being taxed to death. What is it about that the politicians don't understand? Tax the attorneys and the oilmen and the others who always send their lobbyists to Austin to stuff the money in the back pockets.
They could solve the problem of the special intersts and just call for an income tax. But that would produce another Alamo. And there would be no survivors in Austin. And they know it.
Equitable taxation and equitable funding. The problem with both is the lobbyists.
