As Texas prepares to make drastic budget cuts, the House is trying to find new ways to generate revenue without adding more taxes.
Because many politicians have promised not to raise taxes, the house is attempting to come up with new ways to generate revenue without increasing the tax bill. One major option is HB658 by Rep. Villareal, which would close the corporate tax loophole. Then there is HB257, which seems to be aimed at reducing the period of presumed abandonment on unclaimed personal property. This would allow Texas to claim forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, and security deposits, if they are left for more than five years, compared with the current five years.
The next, and most likely option, is some accounting tricks that allow some of the payments to be delayed until the next legislative session in 2013. This will, however, put lots of pressure on the budget in the next legislative session. HB275 would allow taking money from the Rainy Day Fund to help ease some of the budget shortfalls.
Each piece of proposed legislation will likely do little to no good, but when applied all together, it will definitely have some affects
The author of this article is the founder of the website Off the Kuff, where this article came from. The intended audience is likely one with any interest in politics, or anyone who lives in Texas, as the budget cuts will likely affect all Texans.
