Senate Passes Surcharge Bill

The Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill to reclassify as “surcharges” some of the taxes insurance carriers currently pay to address the problem of retaliatory taxes levied in other states. The Senate on Thursday voted 31-0 to pass SB 1455, by Sen. Brent Hagenbuch, R-Denton. The bill, among other things, would amend the statute authorizing a workers’ compensation “maintenance tax” and reclassify the assessment levied on carriers and self-insured employers as a "surcharge" to finance the Division of Workers’ Compensation. An analysis of the...