In the face of a daunting $27 billion dollar budget shortfall, a Texas bill that would give huge tax breaks for large yachts, has been green-lighted by a House committee. The decision comes as the “Lone Star State” faces scores of teacher-layoffs, and deep cuts to education and social services like medicare and medicaid.House Bill 2187’s original text would cap the amount of tax paid on any sale of a yacht at $15,625, roughly the amount paid for a $250,000 vessel. This means sales of yachts with price tags in the high hundreds of thousands or even millions wouldn’t be subject to more tax, although the figure has been raised to $18,000 in order to match the figure neighboring Florida employs.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=111932