Houston Chronicle by Jeremy Wallace 2/24/2023
Days after state senators filed legislation to cut the sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 5.75 percent, Abbott said he’s open to the idea.Momentum is growing fast in the Texas Legislature to cut state sales taxes as part of a bigger tax relief package.
Just days after two key state senators filed legislation to cut the sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 5.75 percent, Gov. Greg Abbott said in an exclusive interview with Hearst Newspapers that he’s open to the idea and planning to put out his own proposals on the topic soon.
“I’ve been working with my staff on some sales tax reduction ideas,” Abbott said. “We haven’t rolled them out yet, but it is a concept that I support.”
Since 1990, Texas has had a 6.25 percent state sales tax, with local governments having the option of increasing the tax to 8.25 percent, as Harris and Bexar counties have done.
Under the bill filed by state Sens. Royce West, D-Dallas, and Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, that state tax rate would drop to its lowest point since the 1980s, resulting in $7 billion a year less in sales tax revenue for the state.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/gov-abbott-gets-behind-plan-cut-sales-taxes-texas-17803955.php
