Abbott Vetoes Business Tax Break Bill

 

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for big corporations to win breaks on school property taxes.

 

It would have allowed a company to make one application for projects strung across multiple school districts.

 

One opponent said the bill began as an effort to help energy giant ConocoPhillips qualify a salt dome storage facility for subsidies it was seeking for a natural gas plant and barge terminal near Houston.

 

With his veto, Abbott disclosed publicly that he had misgivings about a 2001 law. The law promises the state will repay school districts if they reduce appraisals for big new manufacturing plants and other facilities.

 

The deals primarily have benefited wind farms and petrochemical installations along the Gulf Coast. Various studies have questioned the program’s effectiveness in creating jobs and making sure subsidies go to plants that otherwise would go elsewhere…..read more