Columns & Opinions

Early voting in this year’s midterm elections began Monday and continues through Friday, Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8. Voters will pick the state’s next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner and comptroller in statewide races.

The goal of taxes should be to raise only the amount of money needed to fund legitimate functions of government while doing the least amount of damage to the economy and respecting the principle of treating taxpayers equally. Property taxes in Texas have long been a target of criticism and disdain. Taxing someone on their property and then increasing their tax burden for improving that property seems counterintuitive because it essentially disincentives development and growth. A more conservative approach is to collect a sales or consumption tax which applies to citizens equally. Texas sales tax is 6.25% and most cities collect a 2% local sales tax which anyone who has shopped in Texas is accustomed to as the 8.25% sales tax. A sales tax is a consumption tax which essentially taxes people when they spend money. In Texas there are several significant exemptions to sales tax including groceries, some health-related items as well as agricultural use. The state also has a few special sales tax holidays each year. Once a year there is a tax holiday for emergency supplies and another sales tax holiday for back to school. As brick-and-mortar retail stores decline and online sales increase, point of delivery sales tax is becoming more important to local cities and counties across the state.

Early voting in the Nov. 8 general election begins Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4. Applications for voting by mail must be received by Oct. 28, according to the secretary of state’s office.