Texas has been a role model in terms of governance, tax reform and job creation, but it still has a major flaw: a gross receipts tax on employers known as the margin tax. The Texas margin tax is complex, unnecessary and keeps small and mid-size businesses from creating jobs. It even applies to companies who don’t make a profit.

Its elimination would move Texas from being currently ranked 10th at Tax Foundation’s Business Tax Climate Index to 3rd best in the nation.  A Texas Public Policy Foundation Report  found that, based on dynamic econometric models, repealing the margin tax would lead to the creation of 129, 200 jobs in the first five years after its elimination.

The good news is that legislation to get rid of the margin tax, Senate Bill 105, is being considered by legislators. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that he “will reject any budget that does not include genuine tax relief for Texas employers and job creators.” A great way for legislators to send Gov. Abbott what he has requested is to pass legislation to end the margin tax.

Other states are working to make their tax codes more competitive by cutting rates and providing relief to individuals, families, and employers. As such, Texas lawmakers cannot rest on their laurels. Americans for Tax Reform reached out to Texas legislators today to urge them to repeal the margin tax. A copy of s letter can be found below:

March 6, 2015

Dear Members of the Texas Legislature,

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform and our supporters across the Lone Star State, I urge you to keep taxpayers in mind as you consider the issues that will come across your desk during the 2015 legislative session. There are two main things that you can do to protect Texas taxpayers and stoke economic growth: 1) rein in the unsustainable trajectory of state spending, which can be accomplished by instituting a true and unbustable state spending cap; and 2) eliminate the state’s business tax, otherwise known as the margin tax.  

As has been noted in Forbes, even relatively-well governed states like Texas face significant fiscal challenges. A Texas Public Policy Foundation report titled “The Conservative Texas Budget,” outlines a series of smart policy recommendations and reforms to rectify Texas’s overspending problem that, while not as bad as that of some states, is still a major problem. One of those proposed reforms, the institution of clear and achievable spending limits, is the best step that lawmakers could take to protect Texas taxpayers.

I also write today to urge you to use the 2015 session to rid Texas of the margin tax. As you know, legislation, Senate Bill 105, has been filed that would do just that. The Lone Star State has been a model for other states on numerous matters of governance, and for good reason, but the margin tax is the one major blight on the state’s otherwise stellar business tax climate and now is the perfect time to unlock the state’s full economic potential by repealing this misguided tax.

The margin tax reduces the job-creating capacity of Texas businesses and does so in an incredibly onerous way at that. As the Texas chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses put it, the margin tax is "crippling the small and mid-sized businesses” throughout the state. In addition to the harm it does to employers, economists of all political stripes agree that it is one of the worst ways to raise revenue. Professor John Mikesell, an expert in public finance at Indiana University, has described the margin tax as a "badly designed business profits tax...combin[ing] all the problems of minimum income taxation in general—excess compliance and administrative cost, penalization of the unsuccessful business, undesirable incentive impacts, doubtful equity basis—with those of taxation according to gross receipts."

The tax is so complex – it applies variably to different industries and types of businesses – that the costs to comply with this levy for some employers are actually greater than their tax liability. One of the more egregious aspects of the margin tax is that it applies to companies without regard as to whether a profit was generated, meaning businesses that lost money can still end up having a margin tax liability.

A recent TPPF report found that, based on dynamic econometric modeling, eliminating the margin tax could result in a gain of $10.8 billion in new real personal income in the first year and a personal income boost of $16 billion in the first five years. The report also found that repealing the margin tax could generate an additional 129,200 jobs over the next five years. Texas is currently ranked as having the nation’s 10^ths business tax climate the 3^rd best in the country.

Other states are eager to compete with Texas for jobs. In fact, a number of states have passed tax reform in recent years that seeks to make them more competitive with Texas, and over a dozen are set to pursue such policies in 2015. It’s important for Texas lawmakers to not rest on their laurels. In order to stay ahead of states that wish to entice employers away from Texas, it would behoove legislators to repeal, or begin phasing out, the margin tax in 2015. It’s time to eliminate this unnecessary impediment to private sector growth and job creation. It’s also time to right the unsustainable trajectory of state spending, which can be accomplished with a robust spending cap, like the one proposed by TPPF.

When good ideas come out of Texas, such as smart criminal justice reform, it’s easier to take them elsewhere because other states rightfully want to emulate Texas. But that can cut both ways. For example, a Texas-style margin tax was on the Nevada ballot last year. The pro-margin tax campaign there basically had one talking point: “Texas has a margin tax, so it must be a good idea.” Fortunately Nevada voters were smart enough to reject that ballot measure. Killing the margin tax will be good for the Texas economy, but it will also make it less likely that such a damaging tax will be adopted elsewhere.

I urge you to use the 2015 session to give a boost to the Texas economy by getting rid of the margin tax. Americans for Tax Reform will continue to follow these issues closely throughout session and will be educating your constituents as to how you vote on these important matters. If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Gleason, s director of state affairs, at (202) 785-0266 or pgleason@atr.org.

Onward,

Grover Norquist

      President, Americans for Tax Reform

In an op-ed to the Daily Caller, ATR’s Paul Blair describes a troubling new phenomenon - Republican lawmakers targeting conservative groups for speaking out against tax hikes. Several Georgia Republicans including Gov. Nathan Deal, Speaker David Ralston, and House Transportation Committee Chair Jay Roberts have proposed raising the gas tax to fund their pet projects.

In order to push their proposals down the throat of Georgia Taxpayers, elected officials have attacked conservative groups that have spoken out. As the op-ed explains, ATR released a blog post criticizing this proposal for violating the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a written commitment that many Georgia legislators made to their constituents:

“As we regularly do, and in the course of exercising our First Amendment rights, we explained in a blog post on our website that raising the gas tax was in fact a tax hike in violation of the Pledge, which many legislators in Georgia have signed.

However, Speaker Ralston and his allies moved to quickly threaten anyone who spoke out against the demand that taxpayers hand over more of their hard earned income to out-of-touch politicians. As Paul Blair explains:

“Soon after, we received an email, fax, and overnighted letter by one of the founders of GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group, accusing us of violating the law. We did not release this letter. The following day, however, the Speaker of the House accused us of illegally lobbying in Georgia. It is reasonable to assume the lobbyist and Speaker had discussed this tactic.”

Perhaps most concerning, this tactic is straight out of the liberal play book:

“This is how the left operates. When their message and policy proposals fail, they employ scare tactics to bully opponents of their big government agenda.”

Georgia Republicans need to realize that they are accountable to taxpayers, and that using the left’s strategy to stifle speech will not work. As Paul Blair explains:

“Taxpayers will not be silenced or threatened into submission. Tax hikes are what politicians do instead of reforming government. It is sad and unfortunate that some Republicans in Georgia are employing the tactics of left to use the government to stifle speech. They will not succeed.”

Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have introduced a tax reform plan which aims to be simultaneously pro-growth, pro-family, and much more simple than the current tax mess.  Here are the major components:

Business tax rate of 25 percent.  The corporate income tax rate is reduced from 35 to 25 percent.  The top income tax rate for “pass through” or “flow through” firms like Subchapter-S corporations, partnerships, LLCs and sole proprietorships would fall from 39.6 percent to 25 percent.  All businesses face the same income tax rate.

Zero percent tax rate on capital gains, dividends, and interest.  The plan reduces the regular tax rate on capital gains and dividends from 20 percent today to 0 percent.  Interest would also face a 0 percent tax rate (though interest is no longer deductible for businesses), meaning that all savings—even in taxable brokerage accounts and deposit accounts—would benefit from tax free growth.  All savings would work much like Roth IRAs do today.

Top personal rate cut to pre-Obama levels.  The top personal income tax rate would be reduced from 39.6 percent to 35 percent.  Exceptions obviously apply for business income (25 percent) and savings income (0 percent).

Simple two-bracket tax system.  The first $150,000 of taxable income for married couples (half this for singles) would face tax at a 15 percent rate.  All income earned above these levels face tax at a 35 percent rate.  But see the business/investment exception rates above.

Full business expensing.  All business capital investments—including equipment, building, inventories, and land—would be immediately and fully deductible from taxable income.  This would replace our current slow, multi-year deduction regime known as “depreciation.”  All investments are deducted the year the cash is actually spent.

Moving from worldwide to territorial taxation.  Any money repatriated from overseas (where it has already faced local taxation) would see no additional tax from the IRS.  To help finance this, a special 6 percent one-time tax (paid over a decade) is assessed on current overseas profits.

Kills the death tax. The plan fully eliminates the death tax.

Pro-family tax reforms.  Creates a new $2500 child tax credit (on top of the current $1000 one) creditable to both income tax and payroll tax liability.  No more marriage penalty.

Simplicity.  Two brackets for individuals. The AMT is repealed.  The standard deduction is repealed and replaced by a $4000 tax credit for couples (half that for singles).  Only mortgage interest and charitable contribution deductions remain (these can be taken in addition to the personal credit).  Most returns would be postcard-sized.

Robert Bentley, entering his second term as Alabama’s governor, has announced a proposal that would increase taxes by $541 million in an effort to plug what he says is a $700 million budget shortfall. Bentley’s move for higher taxes clearly violates his written promise to Alabama taxpayers to: “…oppose any and all efforts to increase taxes” — a promise he was more than happy to campaign on for re-election. 

Gov. Bentley’s proposal would increase taxes on cigarettes in Alabama by 82.5-cents per pack — estimated to generate $205 million. Additionally, the plan would double the sales tax on automobiles, from 2 to 4 percent, generating roughly $200 million. The $136 million remaining in tax hikes, according to AL.com, includes $47 million from ending the municipal exemption for the public utilities license tax, increasing the rental-car tax from 1.5 percent to 4 percent, an insurance premium tax, and requiring “… combined income reporting for corporations that do business in other states.” 

Relying on cigarette taxes — often a declining source of revenue as more and more Americans either reduce how much they smoke or quit — seems like a foolish way to plug Alabama’s revenue shortfall. The Washington Policy Center’s John Barnes detailed the disastrous decision in Washington state of relying on cigarette taxes to fund a 12% increase in state spending: “But actual collections under I-773 have been $2.5 million less than expected. Cigarette sales decline about 1% or 2% each year. Raising the tax pushes consumers to seek cigarettes out of state or from Indian reservations, or it cuts how much they buy. The state Department of Revenue estimated $220 million in lost revenue in 2003 due to people buying cigarettes via semi-illicit or downright illegal means.” In addition to people quitting or reducing their consumption of cigarettes, higher prices means an increase in smuggling. 

The Tax Foundation has uncovered that nearly 60 percent of the cigarette market in New York is comprised of smuggled cigarettes — New York also happens to have the highest cigarette tax in the nation. The Tax Foundation study reveals that Alabama does not currently have a severe smuggling problem but with low cigarette tax states like Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee well within driving distance, higher prices could cause a spike in smuggling activity in Alabama. 

Cliff Sims, writing at Yellowhammer News, has raised concerns about the declining consumption of cigarettes and what that means for the Alabama budget as well: 

And outside of the obvious fairness issue, those who think a hike on cigarette taxes could be a longterm cure for Alabama’s budget woes should also consider the precipitous decline in cigarette sales over the years.

As a result of the tax hikes, laws banning smoking, aggressive anti-smoking ad campaigns and polling that indicates Americans no longer consider smoking “normal behavior,” the U.S. Surgeon General published a 980-page report last year actually predicting an eventual end to smoking in the United States.

 …Alabama hit its peak in 1979, when there were 123 packs of cigarettes sold       for every person living in the state. By 2012, Alabama’s yearly cigarette sales       per capita had plummeted to 67.

While the governor has claimed that he wants people to pay their fair share, the two largest components of his tax plan are targeted tax increases on two consumer markets — one that is a declining source of revenue and the other, automobiles, is a captured market that people have little ability to avoid (for every 1,000 people, there are 1030 cars in Alabama.)

Couple the cigarette and automobile tax increases with a slew of other discriminatory and volatile (the proposed rental-car tax to name one) tax increases in the governor’s plan and it becomes apparent that Bentley is less concerned with governing than with attacking industries and products he finds to be politically expedient. This is not the way in which Alabama should tackle its budget issues. The fact is, between 2000 and 2009, state spending in Alabama has exceeded the rate of inflation and population growth by just over $20 billion. There is room for spending restraint. A long term plan to reduce the state’s out-of-control spending would go a long way to solve the current budget mess and ensure predictable and sound budgets in the future. 

Help Americans for Tax Reform stop Gov. Bentley’s tax hike. Call Gov. Bentley’s office at (334) 242-7100 or click here to email and tell him stand by his promise to Alabama taxpayers to oppose any and all efforts to increase taxes.