Texas Comptroller: Economy Surging as All Industries Expand

All signs indicate that Texas’ economy is strong, and that it will only keep getting stronger. A new report released by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said, “Job growth, sales tax collections and building permits all signal that the Texas economy continues to outpace the national economy.”

Thanks in part to pro-business policies, low taxes, and predictable regulation, companies have been able to expand and create more jobs for Texans. As a result, citizens in the state have money to spend on not just life’s necessities, but non-essential goods as well. 

Sales tax receipts have been strong in the state, and continue to grow. As of March 2014, the receipts were 5.6 percent higher than they were at the same time during 2013. Amazingly, sales tax collections have increased for 48 months in a row.

While retail sales unquestionably play into these figures, the strong numbers are also bolstered by increased corporate spending, particularly in the oil and gas industry.

The healthy new numbers can be considered evidence that Texas’ relatively laissez-faire businesses environment is allowing industries to flourish. 

“It really seems to be that the less government intervention there is, the more likely businesses are to grow and the entrepreneurial spirit is to thrive,” Vance Ginn, an economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told Breitbart Texas. “What we’ve seen is that the Texas model of low taxes, modest government spending, and stable regulations provides a business-friendly environment that gives incentives for businesses to move to the state.”

Indeed, businesses are flocking to the Lone Star State at a record rate. 

As Breitbart Texas reported  in April, new statistics released by the federal government show that America’s biggest cities are losing people to “second-tier” cities. Four Texas cities are in the top ten fastest-growing large metros: Austin (which ranked number one), San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. 

The new Comptroller’s report indicated that although gas and oil, an industry that is booming, is boosting the economy, many other industries are as well. 

“Over the past year, Texas added jobs in all of the 11 major industries, including professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, construction, mining and logging, government, financial activities, information, other services, and manufacturing,” the report said. 

The state has been diversifying its industries for decades, said Ginn. 

“Thanks to conservative fiscal policies…what we’ve really seen is a diversification of industries around Texas,” he said. “We have tech sectors, financial services, retail services–the economy as a whole is blossoming.”

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate