AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Coffee manufacturers, solar power industries and agriculture interests were among the industries that packed into a legislative hearing in Austin.
Each hoped to protect their special tax carve-outs and get a preview of lawmakers’ belt-tightening mood heading into next year’s multibillion-dollar state budget shortfall.
Dozens of tax exemptions went under the microscope Tuesday. That’s as lawmakers on the tax-writing House Ways and Means committee prepared for an estimated budget shortfall of at least $11 billion during the next legislative session. Among the exemptions on the table are those on stored offshore drilling equipment and the downtown Austin state PTA office building,
Removing tax exemptions would be one of many options lawmakers weigh to deal with the shortfall, but that won’t be nearly enough to patch the budget hole.