Issue date: 6/29/05 Section: Opinion

Our Founding Fathers had the right idea: Those taxed do deserve representation. Fortunately, they and other early Americans got their wish - a representative in every part of the country, large or small, to speak on their behalf. Unfortunately, taxation with representation is not working so well, either.

The Texas Legislature recently approved a $139.4 billion budget for the fiscal year of 2005-06, according to Michael Q. Sullivan, vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. This new budget represents a 19 percent increase in spending from the budget passed two years earlier. This increase should alarm all Texas taxpayers, as they will be expected to float the bill. Now more than ever, Texas is in dire need of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). Such an amendment to the state constitution would not only protect taxpayers from ridiculous tax rates, but would limit government spending as well.

A TABOR has several features. First, it limits the amount of money the government can spend by limiting the amount which can be raised. Second, it prevents the introduction of new taxes or increases on existing taxes without voter approval. Third, a TABOR prevents the government from spending beyond its approved budget and then taxing its way out of debt. Finally, a TABOR can be written to require the government to return surpluses to the people, preventing the state from creating ridiculous, unnecessary new programs just to spend money on.

Here's the problem Texans face without a TABOR. Currently, Texas is one of seven states with no income tax. Therefore, to raise revenue, the state must rely on other taxable assets. The two types which individual citizens carry the burden (as opposed to corporations, etc.) are the sales tax and the property tax. Neither of these can be raised much without adversely affecting the revenue generated.

For example, the sales tax is capped at 8.25 percent of every dollar. The state initially levies a 6.25 cent tax on each dollar of sold goods; cities are allowed to levy an additional tax not to exceed 2 cents. Therefore, without amending the constitution, no additional revenue can be generated from sales tax without an increase in population.

The property tax is not set in stone. However, the property tax is also not set by the state, nor collected. Property taxes are set by school districts to fund public education. Moreover, the state constitution prohibits a statewide property tax. For that reason, no additional income can be generated here, either.

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