Tag Archives: Susan Combs

What radicals?

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I was reading this Patricia Kilday Hart column about how nobody outside Texas paid attention to the sonogram bill until the Virginia brouhaha and the Doonesbury series, which is a good albeit frustrating read, when I came across this bit … Continue reading →

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Comptroller Combs’ slush fund

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It took me longer than usual to read this story because I kept having to stop to say “Seriously? Seriously?” When lawmakers gave Comptroller Susan Combs more power to spend tax money to attract sporting events and conventions to the … Continue reading →

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That’s hitting them where they live

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Clever. Railroad Commission Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones vacated her office when she moved from Austin to run for the state Senate, and she should not be continuing to collect her monthly salary, a lawsuit filed [last week] alleges. In the … Continue reading →

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State revenues inching up

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A little bit of good news. State coffers will be bit plumper than previously expected, Comptroller Susan Combs announced Monday, but her outlook for the Texas economy is less optimistic. Texas is estimated to collect $1.6 billion more than was … Continue reading →

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The Rick Perry bailout

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think I’d ever heard about this before. Over his eight years as Texas’ [Agriculture Commissioner], [Rick] Perry oversaw a loan guarantee program with so many defaults that the state had to stop guaranteeing bank loans to startups in … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect the next budget to be any better than this one

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing a theme I’ve harped on here, if state legislators thought that they solved Texas’ budget issues this year they are sadly mistaken. Some experts say Texas tax revenues must zoom far above forecasts, if we’re to escape another miserable … Continue reading →

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What if they all lose?

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that Rick Perry and David Dewhurst have decided they really want to be in that place they profess to hate so much, Washington, DC, there are a bunch of politicians behind them hoping to move up. Ross Ramsey wonders, … Continue reading →

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Patterson to run for Lite Guv

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst running for the Senate, everyone else in state government that’s been waiting for a chance to move up is undoubtedly making plans to do so. At the front of the line is Lanc Commissioner Jerry … Continue reading →

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Perry vetos Amazon sales tax bill

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he did. Gov. Rick Perry has vetoed legislation that was aimed at tightening the state’s rules on when online retailers must collect sales taxes on Texas transactions, the bill’s author said this morning. Perry had earlier criticized Comptroller … Continue reading →

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We have a budget

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Such as it is. Budget negotiators met briefly this morning and voted 9-1 to adopt a conference committee report that cuts the state budget over the next biennium by $15 billion, or 8 percent. The total amount of funding from … Continue reading →

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Combs raises revenue estimate

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Sen. Ogden and his fellow dreamers got their wish. Comptroller Susan Combs added $1.2 billion to her estimate of state revenues, making that much more money available to budget writers who are scrambling for cash. She said the … Continue reading →

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Senate passes supplemental appropriation with extra rainy day funds

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I hadn’t realized that the Senate hadn’t gotten around to passing a bill to close the deficit from the last biennium, since the House had done that a long time ago amid a huge debate about using Rainy … Continue reading →

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Senate passes Amazon sales tax bill

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Senate has overwhelmingly passed a measure aimed at tightening the state’s rules on when online businesses must collect sales tax. Senators voted 30-1 [Friday] to pass House Bill 2403, a measure that originated with Rep. John Otto, … Continue reading →

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City layoffs begin

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With more to follow later. Expressing faith that the “brighter tomorrow we wait for is just around the corner,” the Parker administration on Thursday began pink-slipping municipal workers in hope of easing an expected $80 million budget shortfall in the … Continue reading →

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The itty bitty budget deal

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not nothing, but not by much. Gov. Rick Perry and House leaders struck a deal Tuesday to spend $3.2 billion from the state’s rainy day fund to fix one piece of the state’s budget shortfall. […] Perry said at … Continue reading →

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Comptroller finds a few more bucks

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Better than a sharp stick in the eye. Comptroller Susan Combs has revised the state’s 2011 revenue estimate by $300 million because of stronger-than-expected sales tax collections. That change would reduce the deficit in the current budget to $4 billion … Continue reading →

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Don’t plan that Sunday trip to Liquor Mart just yet

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The debate over allowing Sunday liquor sales continues on. A leader of the Texas Package Stores Association told the Senate Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday there’s been no great demand from customers that liquor stores open on Sundays. Plus, … Continue reading →

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Going through the couch cushions

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

“Taxes” may be a dirty word, but the Lege is busy looking for revenue in other places. “Right now, there is a tremendous amount of effort being invested in identifying new revenues that avoid being called a tax bill,” said … Continue reading →

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How about those tax exemptions?

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of them, and they cost the state big bucks. A 68-page report released by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs on Monday offers a detailed look at billions of dollars in state tax exemptions and could fuel renewed discussion … Continue reading →

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Comptroller states the obvious about the deficit

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Obvious if you’ve been paying attention, anyway. The Texas comptroller told the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday that she can’t imagine solving the current budget crisis through cuts alone. Susan Combs spoke at a hearing designed to be a reality … Continue reading →

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More on Combs v. Perry over Amazon

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a good story that explains the background of the Perry-Combs smackdown over Amazon. There’s another player in this fight, and they’re on the Comptroller’s side: Retailers who charge sales taxes employ thousands of Texans, and some of … Continue reading →

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Amazon abandons Texas

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More job losses, and we haven’t even started firing teachers yet. Online retail giant Amazon.com will close its suburban Dallas distribution center amid a dispute with the state over millions in uncollected state sales taxes, The Associated Press reported Thursday. … Continue reading →

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Are you ready for the next big budget deficit?

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s coming in the next legislative session. Pressed by Democratic senators on the Finance Committee, John Heleman said the state will have a $10 billion structural deficit in future budgets largely because the business tax has underperformed and the 2006 … Continue reading →

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There’s still no such thing as a rainy day

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Having been in denial about the size of the budget deficit, Governor Perry goes into denial about how to deal with it. Gov. Rick Perry on Monday said he was opposed to using the state’s rainy day fund to help … Continue reading →

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We have a number for the hole

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s actually more than one number that can be used to accurately describe the state budget deficit, depending on what your perspective is, but however you look at it, it’s big and it’s no longer projected or theoretical. State Comptroller … Continue reading →

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The coming fight over class sizes

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve discussed the looming cuts to public education, in which the focus of the battle will be class size limits, which are currently mandated at 22 students per classroom. That was part of the sweeping 1984 overhaul of the education … Continue reading →

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The coming cuts to public education

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that public education is a huge part of the state’s budget, and in the absence of any willingness on the part of the Republicans to ensure that it’s properly funded, we know there will be cuts coming. How … Continue reading →

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The city’s financial picture looks grim

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly. A draft of the fiscal 2012 budget, which begins in July, shows a projected shortfall of at least $118 million. For fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015, the shortfall is an estimated $542 million. […] Several City Council members … Continue reading →

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The hole is deeper than we thought, the continuing story

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire the timing on this. Texas collected $2.5 billion less in taxes in the 2010 fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, than the previous year, state Comptroller Susan Combs said in a new cash report. The tax … Continue reading →

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How big is the hole, Susan?

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think with all of the talk about the budget and the projected shortfall, we’d have heard an opinion from our State Comptroller, Susan Combs, as to just how things look right now. Especially given that Governor Perry has publicly … Continue reading →

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Sales tax revenues inch up

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s better than the alternative, but still nothing to write home about. Sales tax receipts in July were up 2.2 percent compared to the same time the previous year, [Comptroller Susan] Combs said. Revenue increased $1.69 billion from July 2009, … Continue reading →

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Where have all our sales taxes gone?

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege would like to know. “The situation is not good,” said Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, who has asked representatives of Comptroller Susan Combs to testify before his Appropriations Committee. State revenues remain “well short” of predictions, although sales tax … Continue reading →

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Collecting sales tax on Internet purchases

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Tax revenues are down in nearly every state. Most states rely on sales taxes for a significant portion of their revenues. Purchases made over the Internet are generally exempt from sales taxes. You do the math. In recent weeks, legislators … Continue reading →

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Sales tax collections keep going down

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is the budget writers gnashing their teeth. In more grim news for Texas’ budget, state Comptroller Susan Combs said Friday that monthly sales tax collections are down again, the eighth straight month of double-digit declines. Collections … Continue reading →

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