Lowering taxes to lead Texas Legislature’s to do list

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Taxes will top a to-do list for Texas legislators when they convene in Austin this coming January.

Lowering property taxes heads a list that includes school choice, raises for teachers, strengthening the electric grid and addressing the delta-8 loophole, according to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

He was in Midland Wednesday to discuss taxes with G. Brint Ryan, chairman and chief executive officer of Ryan LLC, at a luncheon sponsored by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and Texas Taxpayers & Research Association.

"As the oil and gas industry goes, so goes Texas," he said. "As legislators we have to do all we can to support the industry and keep it robust."

Patrick pointed out that severance taxes paid by the industry funds the $22 billion Economic Stabilization Fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund.

The state needs to continue reducing property taxes and "do all we can to ease the tax burden on businesses so they can continue to grow and create jobs. We cut the franchise tax and we will cut it more," he said.

Texas in 2024 had a record $32.7 billion surplus, of which $18 billion was used to lower property taxes.

Patrick noted that sales taxes comprise the largest source of state funding since the state lacks an income tax or statewide property tax.

"A surplus means businesses and consumers are buying more. When the oil industry is doing well, sales tax collections increase because people in Midland are buying trucks. Companies are buying equipment. It filters through the economy," Patrick told the Reporter-Telegram after his talk.

He added, "When you have a surplus, you have an opportunity to send that money back to the taxpayers. It comes from the people."

Ryan asked about the state's grid and forecasts for future needs.

Patrick responded that the state currently has available 85,000 megawatts of power, but projections say that needs to jump to 150,000 megawatts by 2030. The biggest users are artificial intelligence, data centers and cryptocurrency miners, he said.

"If we start building today, we can't get there," he said. That's why legislators created the Texas Energy Fund through the Powering Texas Forward Act to provide grants and low-interest loans to finance construction, maintenance, modernization and operation of gas-fired power plants.

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