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MARCH 3, 2005:
LIBERTARIANS CALL SCHOOL FUNDING "STEALTH INCOME TAX"
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Patrick Dixon, Libertarian Party State Chair: 512-771-3936 chair@lptexas.org
Wes Benedict, LPT Executive Director: 512-442-4910 director@lptexas.org
Kris Overstreet, LPT Media Coordinator: 936-685-4992 cell 936-425-6523
media@lptexas.org
AUSTIN - "I wish I could say that I was surprised that Rick Perry, a
small-government Republican on the campaign trail, wants to introduce Texas
to an income tax," said Kris Overstreet, Polk County chair for the
Libertarian Party of Texas, "but I'm not."
Although there are many parts of the school finance reform plan currently
in the Texas House of Representatives that Texas Libertarians hate, the
business tax on employee payrolls is the most odious, according to Overstreet.
"The school finance plan abolishes the corporate franchise tax and replaces
it with a tax on mom-and-pop proprietorship businesses," Overstreet said.
"You can call it a business tax, a payroll tax, whatever, but it's still a
tax on the incomes of the working people of Texas- and that means fewer
Texas jobs and lower pay for Texas workers."
Although Libertarians favor the property tax cut included in the school
finance reform plan, they dislike the hike of sales taxes to compensate.
"Duties on luxury goods, things we can choose not to spend money on, is one
thing," Overstreet said. "Expanding taxable goods to include drinking water
and auto repairs is nothing less than balancing the budget over the backs
of Texas' poor."
Where some Libertarians are furious at the plan's details, others look
forward to 2006 elections. "The boldness of these tax raising Republicans
amazes me," said Libertarian state executive director Wes Benedict. "I
predict a banner year for Libertarian candidates in 2006 if these tax increases pass.
"Republicans may call themselves the party of small government, but their
support of this new state income tax is proof that they're every bit the
big-government advocates that Democrats are. Advocates of smaller
government and lower taxes will have only one place to go- the Libertarian
Party."
Libertarians call for government taxation to be kept to the absolute
minimum necessary for government to fulfill its duties. "There's plenty of
room for reforming education and improving our public schools without
hiking taxes on the poor," said Overstreet.
"When you consider that private schools which charge less than half what
Texas public schools spend per student produce much better educated
students, you have to wonder where all that extra money is going to.
"We've established time and again that throwing more money at schools
doesn't make them better. Maybe it's time we started throwing less."
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