This post originally appeared at https://reforminggovernment.org/explain-it-to-me-senate-universities-and-revenue-committee-passes-personal-property-tax-elimination-bill/

From IRG Policy Analyst Patrick Hughes

What happened? This week the Senate Universities and Revenue Committee approved Senate Bill 2, which eliminates the personal property tax in a 7-2 bipartisan vote.

Why is it important? The bill eliminates the personal property tax, a tax levied against certain business property including office furniture, some machinery and tools and other non-exempt items. Compliance with this tax is time consuming and costly for businesses. The Department of Revenue estimates that elimination will result in approximately $412 million in tax relief. Repeal has been a major goal for tax reform advocates for many years.

What’s next? Although repealing the personal property tax has had bipartisan support – it has not made it to the finish line yet. Look for the debate to continue as budget deliberations get under way.