Last month, the City of Austin proposed a massive city budget of $5.9 billion, an increase by over $400 million from the previous year. As reported here at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, implementation of this radically careless budget would cost Austinites an additional $272 per year.
Apparently, Austin ISD decided that further burdening taxpayers would be a good idea, and is seeking an additional property tax hike.
By an 8-1 vote, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees have called for a voter approval tax rate election, or VATRE, a method that allows increased tax rates beyond the state-mandated cap. The School Board Vice President, Kevin Foster, held the only dissenting vote.
Austin ISD is already sitting at a current budget deficit of roughly $119 million, and the proposed property tax hike would be used to provide raises to district staff. It entails an increase of 9.1 cents per $100 of a home’s value, meaning that the average homeowner in Austin would have to pay more than $400 in additional taxes.
This proposal comes on the heels of the Legislature’s attempt to lower property taxes in 2023, an attempt that still resulted in a net property tax increase across the state, for the highest property tax levies on record.
Austin is not the only Texas city whose ISD is attempting to ascertain a property tax increase. Other school districts such as those in Manor, TX and Magnolia, TX, are also seeking a VATRE on the November 5th ballot. Last year, over 50 Texas school districts voted to put tax increases on the ballot.
Texas homeowners continue to be punished for their accomplishment of the American dream, and forced to pay rent on property that they already own by irresponsible and fiscally inept politicians. For Austin residents, specifically, the sort of tax increase resulting from the passage of this VATRE would double down on their financial burdens following the outrageous city budget increase. Of course, this incessant government overreach accompanies rampant inflation and cost-of-living increases that have overwhelmed all Americans over the past few years.
Based on the voting patterns of Austin, it is likely that this ballot measure will be successful, empowering the government to further encroach on the earnings of the people.
Spending caps must be placed on local governments by the Texas legislature in order to protect residents from such egregious forms of taxation.
Concerned citizens and those who are fed up with elected officials who have an addiction to spending our money should oppose and vote against VATREs, like the one on the ballot in Austin.
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility works to restore fiscal sanity in the Lone Star State by educating and empowering taxpayers and families, and exposing the actions of elected officials that act against the interests of the taxpayer. To learn more, visit TexasTaxpayers.com.
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility relies on the support of private donors across the Lone Star State in order to promote fiscal responsibility and pro-taxpayer government in Texas. Please consider supporting our efforts! Thank you!
Get The Fiscal Note, our free weekly roll-up on all the current events that could impact your wallet. Subscribe today!
