TAX BREAKS FOR POLLUTERS
For years, state and local governments in Texas have bent over backwards to give huge tax breaks to some of the world’s biggest polluters.
Under Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code (now reincarnated as Chapter 403, after HB5 passed the State Legislature in 2023), local school districts have authorized billions in property tax abatements. Cities, counties and other local taxing jurisdictions have used mechanisms like Chapter 313/403 Agreements and Industrial Development Agreements to give away even more.
While allies of big business extol tax breaks as an effective and necessary tool for economic development, the fact is that the benefits remain largely unquantified while the many detriments are perfectly plain. These include lost revenue for vital public services, especially education; tilting the playing field in favor of large, multinational corporations while small and local businesses face a relatively higher tax burden; and trading off local investments in sustainable, long-term strategies for economic growth – like workforce development and infrastructure – for possible short-term gains. It's also unclear that tax breaks actually serve their stated purpose, with studies and business leaders suggesting they are a minor factor among many others considered when making location decisions.
Perhaps most importantly, because tax breaks are often negotiated behind closed doors and lack a review mechanism to ensure that all promised jobs and wages are in fact delivered, their true cost and benefit typically remain a mystery. But when tax breaks are given to corporate polluters who put the health and safety of the communities where they operate at risk, the only real question is just how outraged taxpayers should be.
That’s why TCE organizes with community groups to shine a light on the full details of state and local tax breaks for Texas polluters. By commissioning independent economic analyses of approved incentive agreements and other difficult-to-find public records, TCE and our partners like CAPE and Better Brazoria are demonstrating the egregious excess of tax breaks given to fossil fuel polluters in Texas – for example to Freeport LNG, which received over $5.9 million in tax incentives for each job promised! Or like 18 Coastal Bend polluters who received over $2.4 billion in tax breaks!
TCE and our partners are dedicated to ensuring that the absurdity of tax breaks for polluters is exposed – and ended. Learn more about our work at WePayTheyProfit.com and YouPayHisTaxes.com.
