If Texas is serious about eliminating property taxes, government at every level must first learn to spend less.
Speaking at a campaign stop in Bullard, Texas, Governor Greg Abbott emphasized that reducing the tax burden requires fiscal discipline from the state itself:
The remarks from Abbott are an important acknowledgement of what TFR has talked about for a long time: that lasting reductions in the overall tax burden, and the eventual elimination of property taxes entirely, require the government to reduce how much taxpayer money it spends.1
For years, the Texas Legislature has devoted tens of billions of dollars toward property tax relief. While those efforts have slowed growth in some tax bills, most property owners continue to see their overall property taxes rise as local governments increase spending. And the overall tax burden on Texans has continued to increase. Abbott rightly argues that without structural reforms focused on spending and fiscal restraint, taxpayers will continue facing higher tax bills (regardless of the type of tax).
And the root cause of rising property taxes: unchecked government spending.
Among the plan’s most significant proposals2 is a new limit on local government spending. Abbott proposes capping annual spending growth by cities, counties, and other local taxing entities at the lesser of population growth plus inflation or 3.5 percent. The goal is to require local governments to prioritize core services instead of allowing budgets to expand indefinitely and place ever-higher burdens on taxpayers.
State Representative Daniel Alders, who joined Abbott during the Bullard event, echoed the governor’s remarks afterward on X, emphasizing the fact that fiscal discipline and spending cuts must accompany any serious effort to eliminate property taxes and lower tax burdens.3
We can – and must – cut spending and pursue even more limited and efficient government. In doing so, we will make Texas more free.
– Rep. Daniel Alders (HD-6)
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has consistently argued that spending restraint is the foundation of meaningful tax reform.4 Every dollar government spends must ultimately come from taxpayers, whether through property taxes, sales taxes, fees, or other revenue sources. Local taxing entities, from cities and counties to special purpose districts, are the driver of Texans’ skyrocketing property tax bills over the years through expanding budgets and increasing debt. Without structural reforms that limit government growth at every level, taxpayers will continue to face upward pressure on their property tax bills regardless of how much relief the Legislature provides.
For Texans who want to see property taxes permanently lowered and even eliminated, that reality cannot be ignored.
Abbott’s latest remarks acknowledge an essential principle: lowering or eliminating any type of tax and controlling government spending are inseparable.
Texans deserve more than talk or temporary “relief.” They deserve a government that lives within its means, prioritizes taxpayers, and develops and implements a plan that eliminates property taxes.
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- https://www.gregabbott.com/governor-abbott-continues-statewide-push-to-empower-texas-taxpayers-and-rein-in-property-taxes/ ↩︎
- https://www.gregabbott.com/governor-abbott-power-to-the-texas-taxpayer/ ↩︎
- https://x.com/DanielAldersTX/status/2072132967015833926?s=20 ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/texas-spending-is-out-of-control/ ↩︎
