Doing the Unnecessary Ridiculously
Yesterday, May 21, 2019 at 4:31 p.m., HJR 38 was enrolled, which means that on November 5, 2019, Texas voters will have the opportunity to prevent future legislatures from adopting a personal income tax in Texas without a constitutional amendment, proposed by a two-thirds vote of both chambers and a majority vote of those voters who participate in a special or general election. I have no doubt that the small percentage of Texas voters who will vote on November 5, 2019 will overwhelmingly support the amendment. Why would they not support it? There are several reasons. Most are provided by the House Research Organization's Bill Analysis, which is here . However, I would like to elaborate on one reason cited by the HRO: "HJR 38 would rule out the possibility of introducing a tax that could offset the regressivity of the state's tax system and provide a solution to the state's school property tax and school finance problems." This simple statement needs unpacking. T...