Perry unveils tax cut proposal to cheers, warnings

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2445405

Gov. Rick Perry unveiled his tax cut proposal in Houston today to a frenzied welcome from supporters and dire warnings from opponents.

Perry wants to limit home appraisal increases to 3 percent a year, make elected officials responsible for appraisal values and cap local government tax collections unless voters approve additional taxes.

Perry also promised to decrease school taxes and get rid of the "Robin Hood" system of school tax distribution, which shifts money from rich districts to poor ones. He offered no specifics on how much taxes would be cut or where he would get money to replace the money lost in the cuts. He said his plan will be "revenue neutral."

"We need more education for our money, not just more money for our education," he told a crowd of hundreds that spilled out of an auditorium at Bayland Community Center in southwest Houston.

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He praised the Legislature for balancing the budget last year with less money than was spent the previous year. He did not mention that the budget included removing hundreds of thousands from the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, laying off thousands of state employees, and taking some health benefits from teachers.