May 10, 2013—The Texas Franchise Tax legislation, which was included in Substitute House Bill 500, recently passed the Texas House of Representatives.
Currently, automotive service shops owned and operated by new or used car dealerships are taxed at half the rate used to tax independent automotive repair facilities.
The Texas state tax code classifies dealership sales, as well as their service and repair business, as “retail.”
The Texas Franchise Tax Bill addresses the inequity by stating that “the activities classified as Industry Group 753 of the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual published by the federal Office of Management and Budget fall under retail trade.”
“We are not finished with our work on this issue, but we have come a long way and the Automotive Service Association [ASA] wants to thank Rep. Allen Fletcher (TX-130) and Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (TX-53) who have worked hard to ensure that independent repairers are treated fairly in the state of Texas,” said Charles Parker, executive director, ASA of Texas.
The ASA is urging its members to continue to encourage their senators to support this legislation by sending a letter, which can be found at TakingTheHill.com.
