It offers, reduce sales tax, add to homeowner exemption by xdollars, etc.

The fact is there is a liberal bastion in Austin and San Antone that would cry but but but the chirens!! What about them?

The budget forecast got cut 2 years ago and they have still not gotten over the DEEP CUTS to the schools. (there were no cuts…budget projection cuts only).

You have to love that any politician even suggests that you should get it back…well glad I live here.

It’s not socialism to give money back to taxpayers. I don’t live in Texas, but if I did, I’d go for a sales tax holiday. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t stimulate business long term, because that’s not the point. Giving back to taxpayers is. And those that paid the most taxes would likely buy the most, therefore benefiting most from the tax holiday.

For future years, sales tax rates could be scaled back to avoid excess tax revenues.

NbyNW on January 30, 2013 at 1:00 AM

Actually, I think I explained perfectly my problem with the idea of giving tax money back to the people.
If you give it back say on an equal amount per person, then you are subsidizing the poor the most. From the rich who pay massive amounts to the poor who pay very little. If I am not mistaken, some poor can even get a refund of their sales taxes if they keep good records and are really really poor.

Your idea of a tax holiday is what I wrote would be a good idea(I actually said reduced tax rate until the budget is where they want it). It is however not GIVING ANYTHING BACK, it just is taking less.

Giving the money out though is socialism, unless you can calculate out and return in proportion the money. Someone who spent $5 million in the last year compared to someone who spent $5,000 on taxable items would be subsidizing the poor otherwise.

I’ve been up since 0300 yesterday, so I’m acting a bit squirrely…er.

annoyinglittletwerp on January 29, 2013 at 4:35 PM

Glad you’re home safe!

It’s not socialism to give money back to taxpayers. I don’t live in Texas, but if I did, I’d go for a sales tax holiday. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t stimulate business long term, because that’s not the point. Giving back to taxpayers is. And those that paid the most taxes would likely buy the most, therefore benefiting most from the tax holiday.

For future years, sales tax rates could be scaled back to avoid excess tax revenues.

NbyNW on January 30, 2013 at 1:00 AM

Exactly. The way to GIVE BACK TAXES to the people is to CUT TAXES. Surplus is one indication that the government has taken too much; thus, the state has the moral obligation to lower taxes where it can to save Texans from being robbed by their own government.

I certainly pity the folks further above that aren’t smart enough to have figured that out before they posted about socialism, redistribution of wealth, etc. Their comments form a sort of virtual wall of shame.

Sounds like buying votes.
The likely return would give the money mostly to the poor, since the poor are the largest number of people. So, say you give back a flat rate to the poor they get most of their money back, the rich get almost none of theirs back.
Incentive for the poor to demand higher taxes, get more excess revenue, get higher returns on giving the money back to the people.
Rinse and repeat a few times and before long they are getting back more than they put in, as long as the congress does not spend.

Does this sound like socialism to you? Law of Consequences. Pay attention to what the incentives you are creating are!

astonerii on January 29, 2013 at 6:15 PM

It’s not socialism to give money back to taxpayers. I don’t live in Texas, but if I did, I’d go for a sales tax holiday. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t stimulate business long term, because that’s not the point. Giving back to taxpayers is. And those that paid the most taxes would likely buy the most, therefore benefiting most from the tax holiday.

For future years, sales tax rates could be scaled back to avoid excess tax revenues.

Everytime a Governor did anything to reduce taxes I would put it on my facebook. It would go something like this “In your face Rick Perry!”. Well if Rick Perry gets a way to return tax money he is in a whole new pantheon of limited government… Well played sir, well played.

The thing is, they cut education to balance the budget. So, he can’t say there’s “more than we need”. Our schools are trying to figure out how to handle the cuts, from increasing class size to reducing programs to cutting back on janitorial services. We need to put the money back into our schools which was previously removed.

ramthulon on January 29, 2013 at 10:19 PM

Go to his website and tell him…He’s asking Texans for suggestions.

ramthulon on January 29, 2013 at 10:19 PM

Charge the parents of the students?

Perry’s a nutcase. Texas has infrastructure needs that have been put off for too long.

We need.

Alligators in the Rio Grande (and Great White Sharks)
A political re-education camp for all the Left Coast and New England invaders.
The sale of Austin to someone, maybe the North Koreans.
And Something Has To Be Done about the Dallas Cowboys.

CorporatePiggy on January 29, 2013 at 4:17 PM

Funny that..

I think the Dallas Cowboys are hopeless as long as Jones owns them.

Rick Perry – clever like a fox.

HondaV65 on January 29, 2013 at 4:46 PM

You are one of the few who caught on.

The fights over this will be fun. The libs will fight to give the sponges a bigger share claiming sales tax relief. Taxpayers will want it distributed back like property tax. There is no fair, or even, way to return this money. But everybody will want some. That they all want it, will argue for lower taxes.

Yep, the fights will be entertaining. And this will keep Perry in the news.

And when his college tuition plan starts up…

cozmo on January 29, 2013 at 4:56 PM

Cowboy Politics will be especially entertaining this session…

I’m actually going with “clever like a fox”….

1st State Dems were super pissed that Perry even dared to challenge their God – Obama and have hatched grand plans to beat him to death with it in the next election.

2nd The Texas Comptroller announces that Texas reduced spending, the world didn’t end and now has a surplus and a larger budget for the next session – Score one for Perry

3rd State Dems announce that even though there is a surplus and higher revenues – It’s not going to be enough to pay for all their new spending proposals – Take that Perry

4th Perry introduces plans to return money to taxpayers – which is a brilliant move on so many fronts. The people who pay taxes are happy, the people who get handouts think they’ll be happy. The State Dems have to figure out how to convince their constituents that this is going to be bad for them…. And do you really want to be the State Dem who’s trying to convince the rest of us that more spending is good. – Score one for Perry

So – What move is being left for State Dems that lets them look better than Perry? Seriously, I live in a Blue County. Our local Pols have been strategizing on how to force Perry into playing nice on Obamacare so they can get their hands on all those pretty Federal dollars – let someone else figure out how to pay for the strings that are attached.

Bonus Round – On top of that it attracts National attention. Add to it, what I suspect will be a strong position on 2nd Amendment Rights with Abbot in the forefront of any Federal fights and suddenly all those primary voters with buyers remorse start thinking Perry looks pretty good.
2nd Ammendment Mother on January 29, 2013 at 6:15 PM

Yep!

Perry’s response to Democrats sayin’ they want to turn the state Blue was Bring It On!

Conservative Governance works…

Texas will keep it’s rainy day fund at a certain level.
Texas will invest some of the surplus in water & infrastructure.

Perry wants the legislature to amend the state constitution to make sure money is spent on the programs legislated and if not, returned to the tax payer instead shifting the money around. He wants a formula for budgets based on growth + inflation that is commonsense so that in the future there aren’t spending sprees.

He seems to be laying the groundwork to keep Texas fiscally conservative for the future.

2nd Ammendment Mother on January 29, 2013 at 6:15 PM

Wow. Glad they caught it, but how in the world did it go on for so long?