Temporary 2% sales tax increase proposed to fund education (San Antonio, Anton: 2013, house)

[Bo]

Sales Tax Increase Proposed: Would raise money to avoid education cuts

A bill filed in the Texas House today calls for a two cent increase in the state sales tax, to avoid major cuts in public education, 1200 WOAI news reports.

The measure, filed by State Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio), who says the higher sales taxes would be in force for only two years, and would expire on September 1, 2013

In many counties, this measure would push sales tax to over 10%.

[Wonderful Jellal]

Originally Posted by Bo

Sales Tax Increase Proposed: Would raise money to avoid education cuts

Temporary 2% sales tax increase

Sales tax increase = always permanent, don't you know your economic history ?
But why not, it's not a dramatic increase.

[Lucidus]

Naw, we need to just get by with what we have. If we allow the state to impose a "temporary" tax increase, then the government will find a reason to make it permanent and add more taxes later. Hold the line.

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by Lucidus

Naw, we need to just get by with what we have. If we allow the state to impose a "temporary" tax increase, then the government will find a reason to make it permanent and add more taxes later. Hold the line.

I agree, a temporary sales tax increase would indeed become permanent, so I'm against that. There are many other areas in the state budget that could be trimmed that would open up more money for education. I worked for the state of Texas for many years and millions of dollars are wasted every single year in just about every state department. Furthermore, politicians waste even more millions on top of that every year, it's really pathetic. Ohh, the stories I could tell....lol. Gov. Perry can also tap into some federal money that has been offered and the state's so called "rainy day fund" could also be used if needed to help fund education.

[Pontificator]

1) I've never met a temporary tax.

2) Retail sales in Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico will flourish.

[Cavaturaccioli]

Why not a 2% cut in spending?

[DANNYY]

I've always treated sales tax at 10% already in mindset, so this wont take as much adjusting psychologically for me. If it reduces the state debt then its very much worth it.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by DANNYY

I've always treated sales tax at 10% already in mindset, so this wont take as much adjusting psychologically for me. If it reduces the state debt then its very much worth it.

lol, 2 bucks per $100 is a hella lot.

That robs me of 4 candy bars per shopping trip. or a dozen eggs, or a container of milk, or.... well you get the idea.

sales tax is already high. They should just not pay the politicians for a couple of months.

[DANNYY]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

lol, 2 bucks per $100 is a hella lot.

That robs me of 4 candy bars per shopping trip. or a dozen eggs, or a container of milk, or.... well you get the idea.

sales tax is already high. They should just not pay the politicians for a couple of months.

Yeah, it would be $1 sales tax for a purchase of $10, which in my opinion isn't all too bad. Everytime I go and get anything with grocery or whatever I need to get, I always run the calculations in my head before getting to the line to pay and instead of the standard 8.25% sales tax, I omit it and replace it with 10% for safety measures and calculate off that.

I have paranoia when it comes to any kind of undercount so more often than not I over count it just to be safe.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Cavaturaccioli

Why not a 2% cut in spending?

Without new funding, education spending will be cut much more than 2%. School districts statewide have announced plans to lay off thousands of teachers and paraprofessional staff.