Business owners can figure out how much they will have to pay under the state's new business tax through a new tax calculator that Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn unveiled on her office's Web site Tuesday.

According to Strayhorn, more than 200,000 Texas businesses that legally had avoided paying any franchise tax could be subject to the new law. Over the past two weeks, the comptroller's office has received 643 calls about the new tax, which will be 1 percent on gross receipts for most businesses and 0.5 percent for wholesalers and retailers.

This influx in calls fueled Strayhorn's desire to create a tool to help taxpayers prepare for the tax, she said.

"It would be absolutely irresponsible on my part not to begin to provide guidance to businesses that have important financial decisions to make. Not only is it the law, it is my job as comptroller," Strayhorn said at a news conference Tuesday.

Strayhorn said a small manufacturer that had revenue of more than $10 million last year will see a 50 percent increase in taxes, from $21,400 under the old franchise tax to $32,000 a year under the new tax, which was pushed by Gov. Rick Perry.

Strayhorn is running for governor against Perry as an independent.

Perry's campaign criticized Strayhorn's calculator.

"The comptroller's tax calculator gimmick ignores substantial employer property tax relief and the fact that sole proprietors and general partnerships owned by natural persons are exempt," spokesman Robert Black said in a statement. "The less relevant Carole Strayhorn becomes in this election, the angrier she gets and the more she resorts to political gimmicks, including those done on the taxpayers' dime."

After learning of the business tax calculator, P.D. Morrison, chief executive officer of PD ME Inc., an independent office supply company in Central Texas, said he expects problems for some businesses when the tax comes into place.

Business owners "will end up paying a tax whether we made a profit or not," Morrison said. "With a franchise tax, you didn't have to pay if you didn't make profit."

However, Morrison, who owns several public and private properties, said he will be helped by school property tax reductions that were approved by lawmakers this spring along with the business tax. Both were done to comply with a court ruling that Texas change the way it pays for public schools.

He said the tax changes could be disastrous for some businesses and offered this advice: "Go meet with your (accountant) immediately. That's exactly what I did."

Strayhorn also used the news conference to respond to a statement made last week by Susan Combs, the Republican nominee for Texas comptroller, who has criticized Strayhorn for making rules to enforce a tax that will not be made active until after she is out of office.

"Texans across the state have asked me to review and rewrite the rules," Combs had said. "Additionally, there is growing sentiment among legislators that (the business tax bill) needs to be tweaked during the regular session and these changes need to be included in the rule-making. These are among the factors that compel me to move forward and rewrite the rules."

Strayhorn, whose term ends in January, told reporters that the bill goes into effect Jan. 1. She said the rules she is making are not discretionary but are mandated by law.

ON THE WEB: Find the business tax calculator at http://window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/franchise/calculator/