Finance @ Motorway.com -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 4/22/2001
Last Visited: 10/17/2001
Although a solid 57 percent of voters opposed the tax in 1999 , that mandate did not ensure success in the Legislature because of the revenue the tax provides , said John Krueger , an aide to Sen.
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It was by no means a done deal , Mr. Krueger said.
Many in the Legislature were in no hurry to remove the tax , which generates about $30 million annually in revenue for cities , counties and school districts.
Sen. Carona sponsored the enabling legislation that put the constitutional amendment into effect.
Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign the bill that will kill a decades-long tax that has resulted in Texas' having one of the lowest lease rates in the nation.
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One lifts the tax for only two years , meaning that the Legislature will have to vote again in 2003 on whether to extend the prohibition , Mr. Krueger said.
Another allows cities to opt out of the bill and continue to levy property taxes on leased vehicles , he said.
Before a city could do that , it would have to pass an ordinance to that effect.
This was , unfortunately , in a tight budget , the best deal we could get , Mr. Krueger said.
But getting something is still better than nothing.It comes down to half a loaf is better than no loaf at all..
For years , the tax was largely irrelevant to consumers because automobile leases were used primarily by businesses.
But about 20 years ago , leasing started to become an attractive financing alternative for consumers , and private individuals now hold 63 percent of the new vehicle leases in Texas.