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04/17/2006

TNT Launches State-Wide Petition Opposing Sharp Margin Tax Proposal
Fund Schools with $8 Billion Surplus, Not on the Backs of Small Business

HOUSTON, Texas, April 17 -- Today, TEXANS for NO new TAXE$ (TNT) —formed specifically to oppose the Sharp Business Tax proposal, and a project of Conservative Republicans of Texas, PAC,— launched a statewide petition calling on Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and the state legislature to oppose the so-called margin tax proposal introduced by Democrat John Sharp.

“Small- and medium-sized businesses are the engines that drive our state’s economy, and this tax scheme would deliver a crippling blow to every sector of that economy,” said Steven F. Hotze, M.D., TNT co- chairman and founder of several small business enterprises. “If this proposal is adopted, it will exponentially raise the operating costs of businesses, putting thousands of Texans out of work and effectively becoming a ‘hidden tax’ on consumers, invariably raising the cost of the goods and services that are purchased.”

“Over-taxation is wrong, no matter whom the politicians have in their crosshairs. It doesn’t matter if it is an undue burden on homeowners or Texas- based businesses, it’s just not right,” observed Norman Adams, TNT co-chairman and president of Adams Insurance Service, in response to Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn’s announcement today that the state has an $8.2 billion surplus. “But the Sharp proposal appears all the more inane when viewed in light of the news that over $8 billion of taxpayer money is sitting in the government coffers while the average Texan is struggling to meet their property taxes.”

Based on a five percent profit margin, the Sharp proposal would tax every business between $5,000 and $7,000 for every $50,000 of profit a company generates. This effectively works out to be a 10 -15 percent income tax on businesses, and every business must pay the Sharp Business Tax whether or not it makes a profit.

“The commonsense fix to this problem is to return the surplus to citizens by lowering the school districts’ tax rates. This fulfills the requirements outlined by the Texas Supreme Court and avoids further taxation,” stated Bruce Hotze, TNT executive director and CEO of Compressor Engineering Corporation (CECO). “It is time for the legislature to exert fiscal discipline by cutting the fat out of the bloated state government bureaucracies, instead of treating the taxpayer like an endless well by which they can finance their whims.”

Steven F. Hotze, M.D., Norman Adams and Bruce Hotze are scheduled to testify to the state legislature on behalf of small businesses on Wednesday, April 19, 2006. The petition can be viewed online at www.TEXANSforNOnewTAXES.org.