One of the true taxpayer heroes in the Legislature, Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney), reports in his newsletter today that the Music Conservatory of Texas, which taught over 33,000 music lessons in 2007, paid $6,200 of its $8,394 in profit to the state under the new business tax.

That’s 75 percent of their profit, which was a mere 25.4 cents per lesson. Frankly, they might want to think about becoming a non-profit, a changeover which could become a trend. But what legislators should think about is reforming or abolishing the margins tax.

Paxton also notes that an orthopedic surgeon in his district had to fork over about $100,000 under the new tax and, therefore, no longer has time to donate care to the indigent.

Wouldn’t Texas be better off with more resources in the private sector – more music lessons and more orthopedic care – rather than more government in Austin?

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