Business tax breaks closer to reality after Texas Senate approves compromise

Texas business owners may see a lower tax bill in the future. The Texas Legislature is taking steps toward approving a deal that would lower certain taxes. (Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune)

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The Texas Senate advanced a bill Wednesday to give business owners bigger breaks on their property taxes — a key piece of a deal brokered on how to lower Texans’ property taxes.

House Bill 9 by state Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, would exempt up to $125,000 of businesses’ inventory from taxation by any taxing entity, including school districts, cities and counties. Texas is one of only a few states that taxes business inventory, often also called business personal property. That property is currently exempt from taxation if it’s worth $2,500 or less.

The Senate approved the bill unanimously. The Texas House approved the bill in April, but must approve changes made in the Senate before it heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

The bill, a top priority of House Speaker Dustin Burrows, is part of a tentative agreement between House and Senate leaders on a property tax-cut package that also includes breaks for homeowners. A pair of Senate proposals would boost the state’s homestead exemption, which lowers the amount of a home’s value that can be taxed to pay for public schools, from $100,000 to $140,000 — and exempt even more of a home’s value for homeowners who are older Texans or those with disabilities.

Those proposals — Senate Bill 4 and Senate Bill 23 — are top priorities for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate. The two bills have cleared the Senate but haven’t come up for a vote in the House.

House Bill 9 represents a compromise between House and Senate tax-cut writers on how to target tax relief for businesses. Meyer initially wanted to raise the business personal property tax exemption to $250,000. Senate lawmakers proposed a $25,000 exemption paired with breaks on businesses’ state franchise tax.

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