Since last we exchanged views on Dewhurst, I have been told that Dewhurst supported or supports a tax on Texans’ wages and salaries. IS THAT TRUE? Please explain.
Sorry I have not had time to reply to your last well-written post. I enjoyed reading it very much but have been out of town tending to some business. As regards the false charge against Dewhurst about the wage tax, anything that has ever been proposed for discussion in the Texas Senate to try to meet budget could be constured to be the fault of the Lt. Gov. of Texas, the way the state govt. in Texas is structured. The charge is a red herring.
Of couse there are already “wage taxes” in Texas, but there is no state income tax. Here are the facts:
Texas is one of the few states that does not charge employees a state income tax (though Texas employees must still pay federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare tax withholdings). Texas employers are also subject to state unemployment (SUTA) tax, federal unemployment (FUTA) tax, and their share of Medicare and Social Security taxes. The employer calculates federal payroll taxes according to the Internal Revenue Service’s guidelines, and state payroll taxes according to the Texas Workforce Commission’s instructions.
That wage tax was one of the first lies that Cruz told in his early negative ads.
The wage tax was certainly never proposed by Dewhurst. In fact, Dewhurst objected to that possibility. The WSJ reference that Cruz has used since last fall came from an Op-Ed, not a news article, that was political and aimed at defeating Dewhurst. http://www.tedcruz.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2005-05-10-WSJ-taxes.pdf
Back in 05/06, the Governor named an independent panel to rework our property and franchise taxes in Texas. In large part, this was due to requirementsnresulting from lawsuits against the State on education and Medicaid spending.
The panel suggested expanding the franchise (business) tax to businesses formerly exempted. The tax would be on gross receipts, whether or not the company made a profit. The Lt. Gov. objected to a tax that would penalize businesses for hiring and offering benefits, and in classic “Big Lie” style, his opponents claimed the exact opposite of what he said.