Gov. Perry Talks Shop with Small Business Owners
Govenor Rick Perry spoke with small business owners during the National Federation of Independent Business luncheon for "Texas Small Business Day" Tuesday. Photo by KUT News.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Governor Rick Perry made the rounds with small business owners Tuesday. He spoke at the National Federation of Independent Business luncheon for “Texas Small Business Day.” Perry has continued to drive across the point about cutting state spending without raising taxes. The message found a mostly friendly audience, but there are some differences expressed by businesses’ owners, large and small.
Wanda Rhom recently sold her San Antonio printing business. She’s now living off of her retirement fund – her personal version of the Rainy Day Fund.
“I always kind of hid a little money aside, you know, just in case something unexpected happened and again I think the government should be run like a business. And there’s always something that’s unexpected,” Rhom said.
At an earlier luncheon this year with the Texas Association of Businesses, owners said dipping into that fund would be necessary, especially for shoring up education spending.
“I would say it’s the perspective of the large business that has operations spread across the United States and world-wide, versus the small business that’s pretty much locked into Texas said” Woodward Rex Springstube, associate professor of finance and economics at Concordia University.
He added, “The smaller business who doesn’t hire that many college grads but is locked into Texas, probably wants that Rainy Day Fund kept for things that can wipe out a business like a flood.”
The other difference between big and small business owners is the franchise or margin tax. Business owners grossing $1 million or less a year don’t have to pay the state tax. But next year, that threshold drops to $600,000 dollars. David Campbell owns a wooden pallet manufacturing business in Austin.
“It’s not lived up to revenue expectations and it’s shifted the burden to middle size businesses which employ the majority of the people here in Texas,” Campbell said.
Governor Rick Perry told the small business owners that he’ll work to make the franchise tax exemption permanent for businesses that make up to $1 million. But as for using the Rainy Day Fund, those three words didn’t get mentioned.
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