Texas State Senator Joan Huffman files legislation to repeal data center sales tax exemptions
HOUSTON - Texas State Senator Joan Huffman has announced she's filed legislation to repeal data center sales tax exemptions.
What we know:
According to the announcement, Huffman filed Senate Bill 293 on Monday and "a majority of senators joins Senator Huffman as joint authors, signaling unified support to repeal these tax incentives."
AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 8: Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing about higher education funding at the Capitol on Tuesday February 8, 2023. (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
A release from Huffman stated the proposal repeals Tax Code Sections 151.359 and 151.3595 and existing exemptions would expire on the bill's effective date. Furthermore, applications pending with the Comptroller on that date would be denied.
What they're saying:
"Texas should welcome investment. It should not write a blank check," Huffman said. "When this exemption was created in 2013, the cost to taxpayers was about $14.6 million in the first biennium. The Comptroller now estimates forgone sales tax revenue in the range of $3.3 billion for the coming biennium. That is not what the Legislature voted for more than a decade ago, and it is not sustainable."
Huffman added, "No tax exemption should run on autopilot. Requiring these projects to pay the same sales tax other Texas businesses pay is not anti-growth. It is responsible stewardship of the revenue that funds schools, public safety, and the rest of state government. If a project makes sense in Texas, it should make sense without a multi-billion-dollar subsidy."
The Source: Information from this story comes from an announcement posted by Huffman on X.