Property Taxes

House and Senate battle to see which proposal will be adopted. Who will the proposals help, people over 65 who are homeowners, homeowners, and businesses? Who will not benefit, renters, don’t hold your breath expecting your landlord to tell you that they are lowering the monthly payments because they are paying fewer taxes. City governments will have less money to get things done. Houston is a perfect example of how property tax caps can hurt governments. People complain about crime but don’t want to pay taxes to pay for it. People complain about the streets but don’t want to pay for the repairs. Local government is the one that does the most to make our lives better, at least here in Texas.

The two chambers have been in opposition for months over their competing proposals.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate want to use the state’s historic budget surplus to pump billions of dollars into property tax relief. And both chambers agree on directing $5.3 billion to continue paying for tax cuts approved in previous legislative sessions.

House leaders — including Phelan and state Rep. Morgan Meyer, a Dallas Republican and the House’s chief tax writer — want to tighten the appraisal cap and send the rest of the $17 billion they’ve proposed for tax cuts, more than $12 billion, to school districts so they can lower their tax rates.

Senate leaders have sought more targeted relief in their $16.5 billion tax-cut package. Their proposal would send just an additional $5.38 billion to school districts. But the cornerstone of their package would be raising the state’s homestead exemption — the amount of a home’s value that can’t be taxed by school districts — from $40,000 to $70,000, plus an additional $20,000 bump to seniors and tax credits for businesses. Texas Tribune

Which proposal helps property owners the most?

The Senate proposals based on what I have read, but the system is always unfair to someone, the winners are usually those that give money to the politicians or old folks who tend to vote in much higher numbers.

More on the proposals:

Why tax policy experts fear the Texas House plan to lower property taxes could have dire ripple effects. Texas Tribune

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