Equally noteworthy with the growth of expenditures is the growth of receipts, and this is proof of the state's remarkable material development since 1880. The net receipts of the state government, including the proceeds of sales of land which accrued to the permanent funds, increased from $3,076,402 in 1881 to $11,248,899 in 1910 and to $17,441,744 in 1914. But in 1915 the amount was $15,492,308. Excluding the accounts of the permanent funds, because they are capital and not income funds, total net receipts attained the three million mark in 1880, the four million in 1886, the five million in 1888, the six million in 1900, the seven million in 1905; the eight million was reached and passed and the nine million attained by 1908, the ten million in 1909, the twelve million in 1912, and the seventeen million in 1914. Particularly marked has been the increase since 1905, that for the ten years being about eight million dollars as compared with less than three and one-half million during the preceding twenty years. The increase after 1901 coincided with the entrance of the state upon new regulative and developmental activities and the more liberal support of the existing institutions.

Except in 1885, when $200,000 of bonds were sold in order to supply deficiencies in the ordinary, revenues, there were no receipts during this period from bond sales in order to meet current ordinary expenditures. Receipts of an extraordinary character - if not that, certainly of a fortuitous character - were, to mention only the more important, refunds by the United States Government on account of expenditures by the state for frontier defense and on account of the debt of the Republic of Texas, and penalties from corporations violating the Texas anti-trust law. Refunds by the Federal government amounted to $922,541 in 1888; $145,037 in 1891; $101,113 in 1898; and $375,418 in 1906; or a total of $1,544,109. Penalties collected of corporations have been more numerous, but the banner years were 1909 and 1910, when $1,958,815 was collected on judgments.

Taxes and interest on investments, such as bonds and land notes, constituted 86 per cent of the total receipts in 1881, 84.6 per cent in 1910, and 94 per cent in 1915. The percentage which taxes furnished, however, declined from 81.4 in 1881 to 67.6 in 1910, but rose again to 80 in 1914 and 1915. The percentage of interest rose from 4.6 in 1881 to 17 in 1910 and 13.4 in 1915.

New sources of revenue, or sources that may be considered new because of their marked modification, are many fees, especially corporation charter and permit fees, fees and other charges levied by educational, charitable, and penal institutions; rents of lands belonging to the special funds; and corporation and inheritance taxes.

Striking changes have taken place among the receipts from taxes, and of these the growth of special taxes on corporations, or on businesses usually conducted under the corporate form of business organization, is the most notable. The proportion of such special taxes of total tax receipts increased from 1.5 per cent in 1881 to 15.6 per cent in 1910, and was 11.9 per cent in 1915. The share of general occupation taxes has decreased from 18.5 per cent in 1881 to 10.9 per cent in 1910 and 7.1 per cent in 1915. The proportion of poll taxes has fallen from 22.9 per cent in 1881 to 9.6 per cent in 1910 and 6.1 per cent in 1915. The proportion of the property tax has increased from 56.9 per cent of the total in 1881 to 62.5 per cent in 1910 and to 74.5 per cent in 1915.1

The establishment of the office of state revenue agent in 1891 and of the state tax board in 1905 are the only provisions made since 1880 of new agencies to deal with the revenue laws. The purpose of the office of the state revenue agent is that "of securing a better enforcement of the revenue laws of the state."2 A strong fight was made in 1895 on the continuance of this office, but it was not abolished, and the activities of the officer have been mainly those of investigating the non-payment of occupation taxes.1

1 See Appendix, table 10, for statistics. The percentages are not strictly of tax receipts, but some assessed taxes are included.

2 Laws of 1903, p. 87. Laws of 1899, p. 26. Rev. Civil Stats., 1911, arts. 7366, 7392.

The state tax board was created in 1905, but its duties of a general character were granted in 1907.2 It was then given authority to acquire "information that may in any manner aid in securing a compliance with any tax or revenue law of this state," ... of recommending "amendments, changes or modifications of the laws of this state . . . necessary or proper to remedy injustice or irregularity in taxation, and to facilitate the collection of taxes and the collection of public revenues.' Practically the only work of the state tax board has been, however, the administration of the intangible assets tax.

1 Houston Post, March 21, 1895. See biennial reports of the state-revenue agent, 1892-1912.

2 Laws of 1905, p. 351. Laws of 1907, p. 469. Rev. Civil Stats., 1911, arts. 7407-7426.