In a matter of mo
nths, your legislator will hopefully, after hearing from you, vote to return the surplus to taxpayers. However, you can vote today in an online poll sponsored by the Houston Business Journal which asks respondents how the Texas surplus should be allocated.
The good news is that , so far, the most popular choice among the options given is property tax relief, selected by 41 percent of respondents. Another 4 percent want to prioritize reducing or eliminating the franchise business tax while 6 percent would spend the surplus on “economic development.” 27 percent have voted to spend the surplus on education and 20 percent selected “other,” which could mean anything from reducing the sales tax to health care to prisons.
While we obviously believe tax cuts should be the universal choice, we are glad it is winning a healthy plurality. We would also note that state leaders committed another $1billion for the 2008-09 biennium to K-12 public education in the last special session. However, not all respondents likely realized that we will be spending much more money on education regardless, but that still leaves at least $13 billion in money that can and should be returned to taxpayers. Certainly, some taxpayers will spend that money on education whether it is private school tuition, after-school tutoring, or college, but we think families know best how to spend their money.
Remember, be sure to cast your vote .
