Texas Tax Reform Commission to Hold Hearings in Houston, Arlington

AUSTIN – The Texas Tax Reform Commission will meet Wednesday, March 8, in Houston and Monday, March 13, in Arlington to gather recommendations on how to reform the state tax structure.

The hearings are part of a series of public hearings the commission is holding across the state to gather input from Texans on how to modernize the tax structure and reduce property taxes. The public is invited to participate.

The 24-member, bi-partisan commission was created by Gov. Rick Perry in September 2005. It is chaired by former Texas comptroller John Sharp. Since the commission’s creation, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled the state’s current school property tax structure unconstitutional and has given lawmakers until June 1 to devise a different tax system and lower school property taxes.

The governor has outlined five key principles to guide the commission’s deliberations on tax reforms. Perry said our new tax structure must be fair, broad-based, modern, understandable to taxpayers and competitive with other states “so that Texas can continue to attract jobs by maintaining the best business climate in America.”

Details of the Houston and Arlington meetings are as follows:

Wednesday, March 8

10:00 a.m. – Houston
Texas Tax Reform Commission to hold public hearing.
Texas Southern University
Roderick R. Paige Education Building
Auditorium 2nd Floor
3100 Cleburne Street
Houston, TX 77004

Monday, March 13

10:00 a.m. – Arlington
Texas Tax Reform Commission to hold public hearing.
Wyndham Hotel
Hall of Fame Room
1500 Convention Center
Arlington, TX 76011