Carine Martinez joined the Foundation in 2016 and is director of research and publications.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in international business administration (completed in English, French, and Spanish) and a master’s degree in American studies from the Sorbonne in Paris, France.
Carine is originally from Paris, France, but happily moved to the United States in 2011 and finally in Texas in 2013. She became an American citizen in 2019.
It started with the nonrenewal of Chapter 313 during the 87th Texas Legislature, which signaled concerns from a broadening coalition about government—in that case school districts—picking winners and losers by granting property tax breaks to select businesses. Now it seems hesitation is growing at the local level to handing out property tax breaks under Chapter...
The regular session of the 87th Texas Legislature has ended, and time has come to take stock of the changes that will follow. In terms of economic development, the Legislature ended one program, created a new one, and passed bills that will increase transparency. The biggest transformation relates to the Texas Economic Development Act, better...
Good Jobs First, an organization focused on tracking corporate subsidies, published a report analyzing the effects of tax abatements for economic development on school funding. The results should be a wakeup call to Texas legislators considering whether to renew these controversial corporate property tax breaks. Abating Our Future – How Students Pay for Corporate Tax...
Smithville ISD’s two elementary schools earned “D” ratings from the Texas Education Agency for 2018-2019 (the most recent year available). Its junior high got a “C.” Though its high school received a very low “B,” it earned no distinctions from the TEA. Yet in March, the Smithville school board told its attorney to begin negotiations...
Government may soon decide whether a major multinational corporation should pay no taxes on a chip-making plant planned for the Austin area, stirring concerns that economic development programs are being abused. Samsung Semiconductor plans to build a new plant, and Austin, where it already has facilities, is on the short list. But Samsung is requesting...
One year ago, on March 5, I became an American citizen, just a few miles away from the Alamo. It is only fitting that this special milestone in my life also happened just three days after the anniversary of Texas’ Independence, because I found in Texas what I was looking for in America. To me,...
Despite the many studies that found problems yet little positive effects from state film incentives, “just an old sweet song” keeps Georgia’s program on our mind. Georgia, we are told, has created tremendous growth for its film industry by offering a very generous tax credit, so much so that it is now called the new...
We should always celebrate more freedom in our lives. December 5 is no different. Eighty-six years ago, Prohibition was repealed. This year, Texas can celebrate its own version of Repeal Day. This December marks three months since another kind of prohibition was abolished—on beer to go. On September 1, Texans were finally allowed to buy...
A recent study on state film incentives (SFIs) examined their effects on filming location for TV series and feature films, employment, establishments, wages, and related industries—hotels, caterers, costumes, buildings, and transportation rentals. The study’s results indicate that the taxpayer dollars handed out to TV and movie productions to generate economic development could have little to no...
We’ve all known the disappointment of a television series that ends badly. Whether a truncated season wrapped up with a too-tidy bow (Game of Thrones) or an ambiguous fade-to-black (The Sopranos), we can sometimes feel the time we invested in a show was misspent. That’s a little like the Texas Legislature. With just days left...
HB 2806 would create the Music Incubator Rebate program to be administered by the Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia Office in the Office of the Governor. The program would consist of some tax revenues from the mixed beverage gross receipt tax and from the sales tax on the sale of beer and wine that would...
TPPF Senior Managing Editor and Policy Analyst Carine Martinez took her Oath of Allegiance on Tuesday, making her an official American (and proud Texan). The journey that led to raising her right hand in a San Antonio naturalization ceremony began in Paris. “But it was after I started learning more about U.S. history—after reading the...