Following a recent interim hearing of the Texas House Ways and Means Committee, where among the many issues they discussed was that of recent attempts by the Texas Legislature to reform property taxes and appraisals, we surveyed subscribers to The Fiscal Note about their confidence in whether the legislature would act to provide meaningful relief in the upcoming legislative session.
Texans Want Property Tax Relief
The question posed to subscribers to The Fiscal Note, was as follows:
“Do you believe Texas state lawmakers will provide meaningful property tax relief in the upcoming legislative session?”
After hundreds of responses, the results were overwhelmingly negative. Nearly 95 percent of subscribers said no, compared to only 5 percent who responded yes.
Property taxes remain a huge issue going into the 88th legislative session, set to convene in January of 2023. Local governments are in the midst of setting their operating budgets for the next fiscal year right now, and though many are lowering rates overall, unless it is to the no-new-revenue tax rate, it is likely taxpayers will actually see their property tax bills rise due to increasing appraisals.
Recent legislative sessions have merely provided for paltry trinkets of property tax relief, which ultimately have done nothing more than slow the growth of the burden themselves. Recent polling also suggests that a majority of Texans from both major political persuasions support using the projected $27 billion budget surplus to lower their property tax burdens.
In March, Republican primary voters overwhelmingly supported a ballot proposition calling for the elimination of property taxes altogether, and in June, the Republican Party of Texas ultimately adopted that position in their platform.
In June, we released the Texas Prosperity Plan, which calls for the elimination of property taxes as one of the three policy pursuits to put both current and future generations of Texans on a path to prosperity, instead of paying perpetual rent to the government under an evergrowing tax burden.
What Is Next?
The next legislative session is set to begin in January of 2023. Your elected officials need to hear from you.
You can subscribe to The Fiscal Note and stay up to date on all fiscal issues that affect Texans, especially our broken property tax system. We CAN put Texas on a path to fiscal sanity and future prosperity if we amplify our voices loud enough.
