Texas advisers claim a small victory in tax repeal

Texas financial advisers just got a small raise. The state this week abolished its longstanding $200 per-person occupation tax that had applied to independent brokers and investment advisers along with other small businesses working in the state. The repeal was signed into law on Monday by Governor Greg Abbott as part of a larger budget bill. Advisers had been paying the tax since 1991. The Financial Services Institute, an industry trade group, said it had become redundant, however, because advisers were also subject to a franchise tax that went into effect in 2006. That, combined with state registration fees, had all begun to add up for advisers and firms, according to a statement from FSI applauding the move. “As a small business owner, I thank Governor Abbott and the state legislature for removing this unnecessary financial burden on Texas professionals,” said FSI board member Dean Harman of Harman Wealth Management in a statement. FSI said it had lobbied more than 30 state legislators in one day in April to encourage them to repeal the tax.