George H. Sheppard

George Hartfield Sheppard (November 4, 1874 - January 18, 1949) was Texas State Comptroller from 1930 until he died in office in 1949.

Sheppard was born November 4, 1874, in Waco, Texas. The son of Andrew M. Sheppard and Sarah Hartfield, they left Waco for West Texas, where Sheppard was raised on a ranch.

He was educated in public schools around Abilene, Texas and Ballinger, Texas and in the summers, he attended normal institutes to be a schoolteacher. After graduation, he took a business course in Abilene, which prepared him for his later life. Sheppard also taught school in West Texas.

In 1910, he was elected Tax Assessor of Nolan County, Texas. He held that post for eight years. During this time, he served as president of the Texas Tax Assessors Association. At the end of his term, he did not run for reelection and was appointed by Governor William P. Hobby to transfer auto licenses. When that position expired, Sheppard returned to Sweetwater, Texas where he began working for city government.

He worked as Secretary for the Board of City Development and was later elected mayor. After his terms as mayor, Sheppard retired to the private sector where he worked in the general insurance business. In 1930, he was appointed State Comptroller by Governor Dan Moody. After his appointment Sheppard ran for election nine times and was almost always elected by a large majority. He was elected to every office he ever ran for.

Because of Mr. Sheppard's active interest in tax matters, he became widely recognized as an authority in the field of tax administration. He gave special attention to the gasoline tax, which was the most lucrative source of revenue in Texas. After he took office, the revenue from the gasoline tax increased from $32,000,000 in 1930 to $69,000,000 in 1946.

After Sheppard became Comptroller the Legislature enacted a law imposing a tax on cigarettes and placed the administration of it in the Comptroller's Department. Once the law was in place two problems arose: cigarette peddlers and cigarette tax stamp counterfeiters. The peddlers operated from bordering States under the protection of interstate commerce while the counterfeiters flooded the State with cigarette stamps.

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