reforming the texas taxing system

A detailed Summary of reforming the texas taxing system

Texans are some of the most reluctant people when it comes to paying taxes in the nation. The state desperately needs a reform that would change the way taxes are collected but Texans are suspicious of change and would rather settle for the insufficient tax scheme that exists rather than take the chance of reforming it and having government raise taxes or implement a state income tax. As of now, Texas has no state income tax and while this appears to be a good deal in outside appearance, the truth is that this places more of the burden on the poor.

Education remains one of the most difficult government funded projects to keep running efficiently and up to people's standards. Without out a state income tax, revenue for funding the public schools in Texas must come directly from property taxes taken by local governments. This places a disproportionate burden for paying taxes on homeowners and renters. People who have wealth in investments and bonds have managed to avoid paying their fair share of taxes on these assets. Interest and investment income for the state was only five percent of the states revenue in 1995. It was 6.3 in 1992. This is probably because of a lowered interest

rate that result in less of a return on investments for the state. Raising interest rates would generate more revenue for the state.

Giving Texas a state income tax would relieve some of the burden from the poorer citizens in Texas. An income tax should be fair to both the poor and the wealthy. We all use highways, we all need clean water, sewage systems, police and fire departments, and other necessities. I would propose an income tax similar to the federal income tax that takes a percentage of your income up to a certain brake off point. The state income tax should be far less than the federal income tax since the state receives most of its revenue from the national government. I also propose more taxing of assets like investments and bonds to take some of the burden off of the poor.

The Texas government depends to heavily on regressive taxes such as the sales tax that disproportionately taxes the poor and because of its complex and narrow base; the costs of administering these taxes are too high. Lower income groups receive fewer benefits generated from taxes than the wealthy that, for example, use highways and air travel more often. Giving Texas a state income tax would make the taxing system more fair.

The state lottery generated 2.3 percent of the state revenue in 1995. The lottery has become the third largest source of nontax revenue. The problem with the lottery is that, according to economists, expenditures on lottery tickets dec

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Approximate Word count = 986
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics