Bettencourt Passes Major Savings Bill Out of the Senate for Texas Job Creators

Senate Unanimously slashes red tape and delivers big savings for Texas Businesses, 30-0!

AUSTIN, TX — Today, the Texas Senate voted unanimously (30-0) to pass Senate Bill 32 and Senate Joint Resolution 81, authored and championed by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R- Houston). SB 32, a Lt.Gov. Dan Patrick Priority bill delivers on a major component of the Senate’s

$3.5 billion tax relief package for Texans. The legislation now heads to the House and once signed into law, the next stop will be the voters in November. If approved, it will formalize the shift to a simpler, fairer tax structure for business owners across Texas, effective January 1, 2026.

“With SB 32 and SJR 81, we’re providing real tax relief to Texas businesses, especially small businesses, saving them nearly five hundred dollars and their time not filing out BPP renditions,” said Senator Bettencourt. “This is smart tax policy that puts money back in the pockets of hardworking business owners and supports continued economic growth across our state.”

SB 32, paired with its constitutional companion SJR 81, provides $700 million in total business tax relief through two key provisions:

1.    Business Personal Property (BPP) Exemption Increase:

Raises the exemption to a $25,000 universal exemption per business location.

  • Small businesses with less than $25,000 in property no longer need to file a
  • At an average property tax rate of $2.2 per $100 in value, the increased exemption will save businesses approximately $495 per location.
  • Definitions of “related business entity” and “unified business enterprise” are established to prevent abuse of the exemption through entity splitting.

2.    Inventory Franchise Tax Credit:

Creates a new 20% franchise tax credit for ad valorem taxes paid on inventory, capped at $500 million annually. This credit estimates it could help up to 59% of Texas franchise taxpayers get reduces tax payments.

“Lt. Gov. Patrick highlighted the combination of the ISD’s 140K homestead exemption, plus his intention to go to a ISD 200k homestead exemption for over 65 and disabled homeowners! No matter what, this adds billions to the world record 22.7 billion of property tax cuts from last session.” Bettencourt added.

When combined with the homestead exemption increase in SB 4, of 140k for schools, SB 11’s

6.8 pennies of the tax rate compression, the Senate’s tax package totals $3.5 billion, offering meaningful relief to both homeowners and businesses alike. Not yet counting SB 2206 extensions of R&D tax credits.