Texas Ponders What's Next for Big-Money Tax Breaks

Companies have rushed to apply for an expiring Texas program that offers hefty school district property tax abatements for new manufacturing and renewable energy projects. The Chapter 313 incentive has drawn big investment through its 20-year history, but has been criticized as too expensive and harmful to some schools and populations. It wasn't renewed, and policy makers are determining whether and how to redesign it. In the meantime, applications for it leaped to more than 400 this year as companies including Tesla Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Micron Technology Inc. try to get their awards while the program still exists. There were 74 applications in 2021 and 49 in 2020. Bloomberg Tax’s Angélica Serrano-Román sat down with representatives of key players—school groups, researchers, and transparency organizations—to talk about the tax incentive, its impact on state revenues and budgets, and the possibility that lawmakers will take up the issue next year. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.