CPA Practice Advisor
Anna M. Tinsley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy On Apr 10, 2017
Imagine getting a tax break just for buying light bulbs or firearms -- even e-readers or school art supplies -- at the right time of the year.
A handful of Texas lawmakers are proposing temporary sales tax breaks for a variety of items, mostly during sales tax holidays that already exist.
The question now is whether this year is the time to give tax breaks, even temporary ones, on products that generate millions of dollars in revenue for Texas each year. Budget writers already are trying to balance the state budget and fund necessary services in the face of slumping oil and gas revenues.
"Questions of taxation always underlie almost everything government does," said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. "Remember the old adage: 'Nothing is certain but death and taxes.' "
Lawmakers will have to decide two things: what it will cost the state to reduce these taxes and whether these are purchases they want to encourage by giving tax breaks, Riddlesperger said.
"In a tight budget year, tax breaks are less likely to pass than in a year where there is surplus," he said. "I don't know which, if any, of these proposals will pass. But if any of them do pass, they will require (either) cutting spending by a like amount or raising another tax to replace lost revenue."
Some say these types of bills show favoritism to certain interests or products.
More:
http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/12324392/texas-considers-sales-tax-holiday-for-guns
