The Tax bills are being debated on the floor of the Texas House.
HB 2, which would dedicate increases in tax revenue from aspects of the Perry-Sharp plan to go towards property tax relief. It passed 81 to 65.
An amendment by Rep. Charlie Geren maintains recapture in HB 1. Amendment passes 106 to 40. HB 1 likely to pass with amendment.
Update: HB 1 passes 139 to 5 votes.
At 4:45 p.m. we are moving on to HB 3. I believe this bill will pass by a slim margin. Perhaps by 3 to 4 votes. Just a guesstimate!
Rep. Jim Keffer is making closing statement. He tells us that Grover Norquest is in favor of HB 3.
Update: At 10:45 p.m. HB 3 (the Perry/Sharp plan) passes 80 to 69 votes.
Update: At 11:00 p.m. HB 4 (the so called Liar's Affidavit) passes 77 to 65 votes.
Update: At 11:45 p.m. HB 5 (the Cigarette Tax) failed on a point of order.
On third reading HB's 1, 2, 3, 4 passed. All before midnight.
Tax Day is over. Session resumes Thursday at 11:00 a.m.
Apr 24, 2006
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30 comments:
Doesn't HB1 only solve the problem temporarily?
How are we going to cover the gap in future years when we do not have a surplus?
Can you please post a link to the voting results so that we know where our respective Reps stand on the issues being debated?
The vote hasn't posted yet, but when it does it will appear here (as the record vote on 4/24/06).
-Kevin Clark
I'm not aware of such a link. Record votes that are available immediately is still a dream in Texas. But ask me which Rep. you are interested in and I will provide the information.
Thanks Clark!
Would you care to post an answer for anon. question posted at 1:51?
I don't know for sure, but my understand of HB 1 is that it leaves future problems with revenue shortfalls to the future. That's why it's the "Get Out of Dodge" Plan. I think it doesn't use the entire surplus, so maybe the thinking is that there will be some surplus remaining for future years? Not exactly sure.
-Kevin Clark
Thanks Clark.
That is my understanding too. While the current surplus will helps us solve the problem we are facing now, there is no guarantee that we will have a surplus tomorrow, which is why this plan will not work.
It will only solve the problem temporarily and we will have to revisit the issue in a few years.
Rep., did anybody consider raising tax revenue by eliminating the manifiesto tax that many mexican consumers get reimbursed by filing the manifiesto?
Did anybody consider at least taxing a portion of the sales tax to mexican buyers?
The Texas' economy is very much impacted by the mexican buyer, but many of them do not pay sales taxes. Don't get me wrong, I welcome the mexican buyer, especially down in the Valley, but how would you consider such proposal?
Rep. Pena - you've got to explain this to me. I'm blogging blind at http://www.inthepinktexas.com/2006/04/24/curiosity-killed-the-cat/#more-1197
Rep. I know you are busy, but I would appreciate your responses to some of my questions. You always seem to shy away from answering any question that would "compromise" your stand on anything that is controversial. We need to know where you stand Rep. Especially on direct questions asked by your bloggers.
Re: raising tax revenue by eliminating the manifiesto tax
Wait a minute little buddy. I don't mind answering your questions, but if you are looking for Google or instant gratification this site is not the place to look.
You asking a policy question that requires the gathering of information, analysis and reflection. Now at a time when we are considering the largest tax bill in the history of Texas, do think it is wise that I drop everything, gather information, analyze that information, weigh the merits so that I can timely answer your question.
I would rather not have left the debate yesterday to answer your question. I think that is what my constituents would have wanted. If you want me to look further into your issue, please mail or e-mail to my state office whatever information you want me to consider. At that point I will follow up.
Democracy is a two way street. With rights comes responsibilities. If timely consideration of the merits of your issue was important to the tax debate, ask yourself, do you think it wise to present the issue when the vote is taking place.
Reflect my friend. You are talking to a real human being here with multiple responsibilities. It may be "controversial" to explain to a voter that he too has responsibilities - but you won't find me "shy" in telling you that.
Having said that, I may be wrong but I remember former Rep. Roberto Gutierrez in some manner proposing the elimination of the manifiesto tax, HB 1993, 1994 and 1995, in the 78th legislative session. I will start there and wait for your information.
Do you have another question?
Great! Let's look into it. Let's start doing some homework.
You are right, the issue (manifiesto tax refund) is not being debated. But, it is not because it is not "important". It is because nobody cared to bring it up before the debate got started. Right?
The fact is, the Valley economy is very much dependent on the Mexican economy, and it is also very much impacted by Mexican nationals and immigrants coming to the U.S. to get an education.
Since we are debating how to make it constitutionally sound to raise taxes to fund education, I think it is wise to look into the manifiesto tax refund again.
If Rep. Gutierrez didn't follow up on this, perhaps other Valley delegates can follow up on it now.
I think that as a Valley delegation, we would make a much better argument on the "Robin Hood" plan by adding to the tax base in order to come to an agreement with our Republican/Rich friends from other areas of the state.
I think that raising tax revenue by taxing our Mexican friends would be appropriate and just to all Texans.
And by the way, you don't have to get upset Rep. And you definitely don't have to call me "little buddy". Do you feel above me because you are in a position of power? If I am "little buddy" then I assume you are a "big" buddy. No need to get upset here.
Now, the real question is, who can take this debate to the Texas Legislature?
Answer: Someone from the Valley delegation, perhaps YOU. It is here in the Valley where we experience the manifiesto tax refund.
If you ask your colleagues from Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, I bet they will tell you it is a good idea since many Mexican nationals go shopping in those cities too.
I thought it would be a good way for us to get involved in this tax/education debate as opposed to watching from the sidelines as other Representatives decide the future of our Valley schools.
Lastly, in terms of writing to you, I prefer to use this blogg. I can get my message accross almost instantly and I will continue to wait for your responses to my questions.
In terms of helping out, I've done my share. I provided the idea. Now is time for you to do yours.
Thank you Rep.
Best regards,
Little Buddy
Damn!!! Good job rep. Tell it like it is!
This is one of the best blogs there is in the nation from a politician, and I always come to it to get the South Texas perspective from Aaron. But I am disappointed when someone uses vulgarities like the comments posted by another anonymous writer at 7:24 p.m. His/her observations were very good, so why use gutter language at the end? I thought Aaron held his own very well, and I thought Little Buddy was well within his rights to press on the issues important to him. The rest of the readers benefit from this exchange of views. If a person has to resort to using a vulgarity, write it in a letter and mail it to him. For most of the rest of us, we come to this blog to learn what our representative has to say, let him know if we agree or disagree, and offer him ideas.
So, please, let's keep it clean. Aaron, I hope you can keep that writer's comments, but delete his expletive. I think, in retrospect, that writer probably regrets using it. I know I would.
Thanks for your hard work, and anonymous 7:24, keep your comments coming, but not the unneeded language.
I still feel that the soloution would be a state income tax like the that State Rep.Eddie Rodriguez another valley native has proposed in the pass session.If anything let us take a look at the Hochberg plan again.
It really unfortunate rep that you have to put up with this crap. I for one appreciate that you stayed on the floor while house bill three was being debated. You are right that some people in this country think the whole world should stop for them. "Instant gratification" or the "give it to me now" attitude is a growing problem in this country. Little Buddy needs to grow up ......
Having worked in retail here in the RGV, I can tell everybody that the manifiestos are a good thing for Texas and the RGV. For one, it encourages shopping from Mexicans who want American goods. One reason they come here is because the same goods cost more in Mexico. If we put the sales tax back on, they might as well stay home and buy goods at inflated prices, leaving us with surplus goods. With the new tax bill, more companies will fall under the franchise tax anyway; so adding manifiestos is ... needless.
Another advantage for Texas in having manifiestos is that Mexicans don't always cash in their manifiestos right away. They'll save up their receipts and cash them in later, if they don't lose them first. I've seen this many times in my work. This effectively works as a zero-interest loan for the State of Texas.
If you're a shopkeeper, I know that manifiestos can be a pain. Just one more thing to track for your sales tax report; but you still have to make the report and you ARE benefitting from the sales. Mexican shoppers are here to spend and go home. WE, on the other hand, actually make demands on the state.
This comment is for Shaine,
Shaine,
"same goods cost more in Mexico. If we put sales tax back on, they might as well stay home and buy goods at inflated prices, leaving us with surplus goods".
What would this do to Mexico's economy if the majority of wealthy Mexican nationals were faced with the decision to either spend money in their own country or ours during peak holiday seasons? Would this improve Mexico's economy?
I'd like to know, please respond either here or email me..
thanks
H.
This is Little Buddy. I didn't get to read post 7:24 by anonymous writer, but my intention was not to piss anybody off.
I asked a question for which I wanted an answer. Not an “instant” answer; not a "correct" answer; just an answer. I've asked other questions before and have not received an answer.
Now, I don't think anybody should be upset about this. I really don't. I think it is a great way for us blogers of this great blog to talk to a real Rep. about the issue. To talk to someone who is on the frontline fighting for our schools. I didn't mean to put anybody on the spot, but this venue "opens the door" to commentary and I was voicing out my opinion.
Shaine...you made a great point and I agree with you. We, Texans, benefit from the Mexican shopper, especially the retail sector. However, if you read my comment again, you will see that I was trying to combine two aspects that are very unique to the Valley: (1) an influx of Mexican/Immigrant students overcrowding our schools, and (2) the impact of the Mexican economy on our retail sector.
If you go and talk to Superintendents around the Valley, they will tell you that many of their schools are growing at a pace of 1000 students per district. Many of these students are from Mexico, and of course, other areas of the state and nation. So, I thought, how can we "fix" this “problem”?
That is when I thought about repealing the manifiesto tax refund. I know we can raise substantial tax revenue by either eliminating the manifiesto tax refund, or taxing less to our Mexican shoppers. For example, when they go make their manifiesto tax refund, we should give back to them a percentage of what they paid in taxes (1% or 3% or whatever amount less than the actual sales tax they paid for any specific item).
Now, in terms of them not wanting to come over here to shop, I don't think that is realistic. Mexican shoppers will continue to come buy products in Texas. The manifiesto tax refund is only an incentive for them to come, hence, some of them file their return and some of them do not. Prices in Mexico are still much higher.
In any event, it is a good way for us to justify the need for extra tax revenue by taxing our Mexican shoppers to help fund the cost of educating our Mexican/immigrant children. Do you see the connection?
I know someone out there is thinking. Just send all the Mexicans back, but that is a discussion for a different debate. The reality is that our schools in the Valley are overcrowded and we need extra tax revenue to solve the problem. With the "Robin Hood" system on the verge of being eliminated, I think repealing the manifiesto tax refund is a great alternative for our state to collect appropriate funds to fund public education, and it will help us to reach a viable agreement with our rich counterparts from other areas of the state.
Hector and Anonymous 10:03, I wrote a little more about the manifiestos at RGV Life.
little buddy, you got an answer. in my opinion I have to agree that you were a little pushy. i think people expect that you be a little less assumimg that everything has to stop for you immediately. you made some good points, but next time try to use your manners.
Where does this sense of entitlement come from, I'll tell you -- It comes from the pit of hell!!!
I'm sorry if I came across "a little pushy," but I was direct and to the point. I've posted before and received no answers; therefore, I had to voice out my opinion. I think I was being fair. At least I got people talking about the issue, which is important, and again, I know this would be a good idea for future legislatures.
A message from Little Buddy:
I conducted some research on the manifiesto tax refund for those of you who are interested.
Let me confess, I did not read these articles before posting my previous comments on this blog.
I found that Comptroller Keeton Strayhorn made a recommendation to abolish/modify the manifiesto tax refund. Senator Lucio supported such recommendation. Reps. Oliveira and Raymond rejected such recommendation. Some changes were made during the 2003 legislative session, which is probably why this issue did not come up again in the last regular session, or the current special session.
It was interesting to learn about the changes made and the report provided by the Comptroller’s office. I am proud of pointing out this information in this blog in support of my previous comments. I think this should be very interesting for our policymakers from the Valley so that we can revisit the issue in future legislatures.
Here are the links:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=manifiesto+tax+refund+texas&fr=FP-tab-web-t-315&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8
http://www.window.state.tx.us/etexas2003/gg31.html
http://www.hispanicvista.com/html2/011303mn.htm
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/print.php?id=49822_0_10_0
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ts_comments.php?id=57829_0_10_0_C
If you cannot get to these links, just do a yahoo search under "manifiesto tax refund texas" and you should get these results.
More information can be obtained by getting a legislative history of all the bills passed during the 2003 legislative session or by contacting legislative counsel at the Texas Capitol.
Shaine...I hope you read these articles. Especially the one offered by the Comptroller.
I read the comptroller's report. Projected revenues from taking action in 2006 would be $25,780,000 to the general revenue and $6,961,000 to local units of government.
In contrast, my local school district is issuing a $56,000,000 bond. PSJA wants to spend $7 million on a new stadium. There are hundreds more school districts in Texas.
Although I could be happy with $1 million for myself, the revenues from manifiestos are hardly a drop in the bucket for school finance. Schools have voracious appetites for money. It's like putting $5 of gas in the car. It's just enough to get you from one gas station to the next.
Thanks for the info little buddy. I'll take a look.
This is my last post on this issue. I promise.
Shaine...you still don't get it. Tax revenue is collected from many sources. The abolishment of the manifiesto tax refund is just one way to raise tax revenue. The Texas Legislature decides how to raise and spend this tax revenue.
I do not expect to fund public education only from tax revenue collected from abolishing the manifiesto tax refund. At the same time, a simple increase in cigarette tax or used auto sales tax or a different franchise tax, alone, will not solve the issue. You get it.
Bonds are totally different. The voters decide if a bond is approved and the school districts decide how to spend it.
Now, if I did not persuade you with my research on the issue and the excellent report from the comptroller's office, then I don't know what it will take to convince you that from a policy perspective, it is a great idea!
Your analogies are totally off base and your commentaries are all over the place.
Rep…I thank you for paying attention to my commentary. I will try to be more patient next time, and I will continue to bring up issues that are important to us. I am here to contribute to this blog and not simply to get off base with irrelevant information.
I know how the Legislature works and I know the tremendous amount of resources you have to gather information quickly. I know you have a great staff to help gather information and I know the attorneys at Leg. Counsel are great in helping draft and gather information. But, in any event, I will be more patient next time, and I really hope we can look into this. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused.
Thank you for those thoughts little buddy. Your comments and questions are welcome here. I will do my best.
By the way, "little buddy" is a term of endearment. I think I picked it up from Gilligan's Island. Instead of "big buddy" try "Skipper" next time.
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