[K-oneTexas]

I think we all would have guessed it when this Tax Commission was named by Goveernor Perry. A tax on receipts - sounds like an income tax. A back door method to get it in for business, then expand it to individuals. Sounds like a 'PLAN'.

[Tall_Texan]

Isn't John Sharp a Democrat. Taxes are always their first answer for everything. Another camel's nose to stick into the tent. Just ignore those other camels.

The Statesman never met a tax they didn't like - except the one that was passed on newspapers (later rescinded).

[TheDane]

What am I missing here. The state has a surplus but they still want to raise taxes. Have I stepped through the looking glass?

[Redbob]

"The tax on businesses would be based on their gross receipts but allow them to deduct ...their manufacturing and production costs..."

Gross less costs = income.
This is an income tax on businesses.

Not surprising coming for John Sharp, a long-time Dimocrat.
Sharp is the failed Dim candidate from Lieutenant Gov, in '02: why in the name of sanity would Go. Perry name HIM to chair this important commission?

[Logophile]

The tax on businesses would be based on their gross receipts but allow them to deduct from that either their employees' compensation, including benefits, or their manufacturing and production costs, also known as cost of goods sold.

Oh no, not a gross receipts tax. Are these people out of their minds?

[Redbob]

""Teachers need a pay raise, and we've got increasingly expensive students to educate with increasing demands for performance," he said."

OK, I've got an idea for you: get rid of the non-teachers!

Currently in the Aubrey ISD there is an "administrator" for about every two teachers!
My son's school has one person on staff whose single duty is to report grades to the principal's office - and every classroom already has a computer, on which those grades are stored.

Can't the teacher hit "send"?

[Doctor Stochastic]

When I left Texas some years ago, the Democrats controlled everything; there was a big surplus and talk of reducing the sales tax from 3% to 2%. Now the GOP controlls everything; income taxes are in the air and the sales tax seems to be going from up from 8%. Of course there are more toll roads to fund, not to mention new football stadiums for the high schools.

[Muleteam1]

I mentioned this yesterday in another forum but I'll mention it here again. For every property tax and income tax dollar I sent to the Federal government and New Mexico last year, I sent $5.40 to Austin. This is true even though my NM property is worth twice what the Texas property is and New Mexico has an income tax. Something is SERIOUSLY wrong in Austin.

Muleteam1

[Centurion2000]

A tax on receipts - sounds like an income tax.

That's exactly what it is ... and why the heck should I pay an extra dollar per pack of cigarettes?

[Dawgreg]

Get ready to bend over.........they're at it again!

[Iwo Jima]

From the article: The judges gave lawmakers until June 1 to restore that discretion and threatened to cut off state funding for schools if the system is not fixed.

I am probably one of the few that has actually read the Texas Supreme Court's ruling. This is an incorrect statement.

What the Supreme Court has done is upheld that trial court's ruling that the school property tax is unconstitutional and therefore the collection of that unconstitutional tax must be enjoined. The trial court had set the effective date of the injunction as October 1, 2005, but the Supreme Court moved that date to June 1, 2006.

If, as I hope, the legislature does nothing, then "all" that happens is we don't have to pay school property taxes. If anyone is interested (not me) in funding government schools any other way, they are not prohibited from doing so by this ruling.

[Sarajevo]

Former state Comptroller John Sharp can go out the door and take Perry with him.

If we were to lower the pay, or better yet, rid ourselves of the $250,000+ per year school superintendents, and their oversized administrative fiefdoms, we wouldn't need to worry about another tax increase.

This sounds like nothing more than another scam for new taxes.