May 14th, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
According to an article in the Star-Telegram, state tax collections nationwide have plummeted by a collective $20 billion.
The article said:
A report released Wednesday shows that average tax revenue dropped more than 12 percent in 45 of 47 states that reported data. Texas was in the middle with a 7.6 percent decline in sales taxes from January to March, compared with the same period last year, and Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has said she doesn’t see big relief in sight.
“Most major sectors of the economy continue to struggle,” Combs said this month. “Decreases in monthly collections are expected to continue this year.”
The drop in tax revenue has been caused by a significant decline in industries such as retail, construction, oil/gas and even residential and commercial real estate. And that’s just sales tax revenue. What about all of the property tax revenue that Texas is losing because of the large number of foreclosures? Homeowners are still the base of our local tax system and without those tax revenues we may begin to see cuts in some essential services. Homeowners who are in foreclosure are less likely to pay their property taxes or spend money on anything other than the bare minimum items needed to survive. It is the foreclosure crisis that’s really at the root of the loss of tax revenue. We must fix this foreclosure crisis because our state’s ability to fund essential services is now in jeopardy.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
View all posts by Reed AllmandSubscribe
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
