For Immediate Release                                                              Contact: Kirsten Voinis JUNE 8, 2020                                 …

Texas cities are at odds over a proposal from the state comptroller to curtail deals that give companies including Dell Technologies Inc. and Best Buy Co. Inc., substantial chunks of their local sales tax collections as incentives to locate or stay there.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders want to ask voters in November whether to dedicate a one percent hike in the sales tax to raise billions for buying down property taxes.

Texas lawmakers are expected to vote on property tax relief this week. One key question is how to pay for those plans

In the years following World War II, Texas suffered years of fiscal challenges. A downturn in the oil and gas market meant the state was getting relatively little by way of tax from that industry. With no personal income tax available for revenue, lawmakers in 1961 turned to a general sales tax as a way…