Strayhorn: Tax bill unconstitutional

Strayhorn is going to make sure this special session is brutish and nasty. The more the GOP engages in circular firing squad behavior, the more we can capitalize on it. I just regret the fact that the children of Texas are also in the crosshairs.

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Texas Legislature: "Just as the House signaled it may embrace Gov. Rick Perry's tax-swap plan, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn said Friday that a key part of it is unconstitutional.

Mrs. Strayhorn said a proposed business tax on partnerships amounts to an income tax, which under the Texas Constitution can't be levied unless voters approve.

'I am waving the red flag,' she said. 'I believe Governor Perry's margins tax is an income tax.'

The comptroller, an independent candidate for governor against Mr. Perry, denied playing politics, though the governor's camp said she was.

'I do not want to put the integrity of our state's finances at risk,' she said.

Mrs. Strayhorn's statement carries no legal weight, and the question would ultimately have to be decided by the courts. She could, however, decline to declare that the bills keep the state budget in balance, and that would invalidate the tax plan."