| New Incentives Proposed In Texas Rep. Kim Brimer, R-Arlington, is pushing for a bill that will put a limit of $100 million on the taxable value of buildings, including equipment, when a business creates at least 100 jobs in Texas. The bill targets capital intensive projects such as semiconductor facilities, an industry sector that has been silent in Texas in recent years after flocking to the Lone Star State in the 1980s and early 1990s. In particular, the bill seems to be targeting Intel, which announced in 1997 it was going to build a semiconductor plant at Fort Worth’s Alliance development, only to scrap those plans in 1998 after a downturn in the industry. Since then, however, Intel has been in a growth mode, building chip plants in Arizona, Oregon, Ireland and Israel. When Intel announced it was backing out of the Alliance deal, officials with the company said it needed property tax relief to continue with the project. Two legislative sessions later, tax relief for Intel was nowhere to be found. Officials with Intel have said that property tax rules in Texas are too high for companies with large, capital intensive projects. They cite that in Oregon, where valuations of property are capped at $100 million for high-tech industries, Intel faces a yearly tax bill of $3.5 million. In Texas, Intel would currently pay $30 million annually on property at the Alliance site. According to Brimer’s new bill, which is only in draft form, a business would only have to create 100 to 200 new jobs to qualify for the cap. The cap would apply to new business development or expansions valued at $100 million or more. The cap would involve the value of the buildings and equipment, but not the land. In Texas, about 60% of a company’s property tax bill goes for school funding. School districts would decide whether or not to cap the valuation. Schools who choose to cap the valuation would not be penalized under the state’s “Robin Hood” plan, which required property-rich districts to send a portion of their funds to the state to be distributed to poor districts. |