Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Talks Debt in Texas, Possible Tax Holiday [Interview]

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar joined Chad Hasty live in Representative John Frullo's office this week in the state capitol for an interview about important fiscal issues facing the state of Texas.

Hegar's office is currently in the process of reviewing fiscal and budget matters for the state during the 84th legislative session. Hegar and Hasty talked about that process, as well as oil prices and business taxes.

Concerning the issue of local debt being a burden on the state, Hegar said citizens should have a complete grasp of debt levels.

"If you borrow money, you gotta pay it back. But then there's a thing called interest. So you're going to pay more money back than what you got in the beginning. And so therefore, even though that's at the basic level, we as the taxpayers really need to have a full grasp of...debt levels, not only on the state level, not just on the national level, but also on the local level," Hegar said.

Hegar also touched on how current spending needs to be responsible, as it could have substantial consequences on future generations.

"We may want to go ahead and have that road built, we may want to have that water infrastructure built, which we need to have those basic services, but every time you take dollars out, you're pushing off those costs to a future generation," he said. "We need to be very cognizant of what is that cost going to be, because otherwise it can have real implications on really the economic health of the future generations ten to twenty years down the road."

Hegar also addressed a question about a possible tax holiday for small business owners in Texas.

"I was talking with NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) last week about a small tax holiday for small businesses, business under $5 million in income, and one of the things I've made a point of is if you look at innovation, if you look at employment, all business are important, but the vast majority of the number of businesses in any society are small business," Hegar said. "The hardest thing for a mom-and-pop small business is getting past that first year, those first 18 months."

According to Hegar, a small tax holiday would help more small businesses make it past those crucial 12-18 months.

Watch part two of Chad Hasty's interview with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar below for more about small businesses and tax cuts.

The Chad Hasty Show airs weekday mornings live, from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM and Saturdays 2 PM to 4 PM on News/Talk 790 KFYO, online at KFYO.com, and on the free RadioPup app. Follow Chad on Twitter via @ChadHastyRadio & KFYO Radio at @KFYO!