LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 17, 2001 TO: Honorable Rene Oliveira, Chair, House Committee on Ways & Means FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB1483 by Homer (Relating to franchise tax incentives for recycling.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * HB1483, As Introduced: negative impact of $(6,300,000) through * * the biennium ending August 31, 2003. * ************************************************************************** General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact: **************************************************** * Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) * * Impact to General Revenue Related * * Funds * * 2002 $(2,500,000) * * 2003 (3,800,000) * * 2004 (5,300,000) * * 2005 (6,900,000) * * 2006 (8,600,000) * **************************************************** All Funds, Five-Year Impact: ***************************************************** * Fiscal Year Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from * * General Revenue Fund * * 0001 * * 2002 $(2,500,000) * * 2003 (3,800,000) * * 2004 (5,300,000) * * 2005 (6,900,000) * * 2006 (8,600,000) * ***************************************************** Fiscal Analysis The bill amends the Texas franchise tax law, Chapter 171 of the Tax Code, authorizing certain franchise tax incentives for recycling. Sales of recycled products manufactured by a corporation would be excluded from Texas gross receipts and total gross receipts for both the taxable capital and earned surplus components. Such sales also would be subtracted from a corporation's reportable federal taxable income in determining taxable earned surplus. The term "recycled product" would be defined, by reference, as a product that meets the requirements for recycled material content. Further, the bill establishes a credit for capital expenditures for certain recycling equipment. "Recycling equipment" would be defined as equipment necessary to assist a corporation in recycling waste and used predominantly for that purpose. The credit would be equal to the lesser of $50,000 or the total amount of capital expenditure made during the period, not to exceed the amount of franchise tax due after other applicable credits. The credit would be claimed in five equal installments over five consecutive reports. The bill takes effect January 1, 2002 and applies to a report due on or after that date. For purposes of claiming the credit, a qualifying expenditure must be made on or after January 1, 2002. Methodology This estimate is derived from analyses made by the Comptroller's Office. The provisions permitting a company to exclude sales of recycled manufactured products from its Texas gross receipts and its total gross receipts for taxable capital and earned surplus purposes would not change the apportionment factor and would have no fiscal impact. The bill allows for "any amount" derived from the sale of recycled products to be subtracted from reportable federal taxable income in determining the earned surplus tax base. A sample of companies from a list of qualified sellers that manufacture recycled products was compared to Comptroller tax files and adjusted to reflect all corporations affected by the bill's provisions to establish the fiscal impact of the deduction from the earned surplus tax base. The tax benefit of a credit for pollution control equipment was estimated using data on pollution control investment by manufacturers and data from Comptroller franchise tax records. A share was assumed to be related to recycling and allocated over a five-year period, in accordance with the bill's provisions. This part of the bill would have no fiscal impact in fiscal year 2002 because the corporate accounting year on which the fiscal year 2002 tax report is based would be concluded before the bill's effective date. Local Government Impact No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, SD, WP, CT