A Houston television report has revealed that the list of fees imposed by Texas state government spans some 85 pages. The story notes that Governor Rick Perry and Rep. Mark Strama will work for legislation next session to ensure that these fees are either used for their intended purpose or abolished.
Among the thousands of separate fees are the motor vehicle surcharge, natural gas fee, office of public insurance assessment, oil and gas well servicing fee, and the oyster sales fee. Yes, oysters! This shell game produces all of $5,000 for the state.
Strama’s bill last session to ensure truth in taxation never made it out of committee so many the proceeds from many of these fees are still being diverted from their intended purpose.
Here is the link to the web story as well as the entertaining video story: https://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou080310_ac_hiddentaxes.3f5ee10c.html.
