Austin, Texas — On Monday morning, the Texas Houseways & Means Committee proposed a proposal to cut property taxes.
Texas lawmakers have used billions of dollars to pay asset tax cuts in recent years, with the cuts being one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency items.
The Capitol and the Senate have a variety of ideas on how to do this.
Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer of D-San Antonio questioned one of those testifying before the committee on Monday about their support for the House or Senate property tax proposal.
“If you can choose between a compression proposal or a homestead exemption, that’s your preference,” he said.
Many of the testimony heard during Monday’s hearing supported the House plan to “compress” or lower the current property tax rate set by the district.
James Quintero of the Texas Public Policy Foundation said the compression will provide immediate interest rate reductions for all property owners.
“Under the House plan, legislature will effectively instruct school districts to lower fees, and then these districts will be on top to maintain the whole,” Quintero said.
All Texas’ Shannon Hullbrook prefers Senate plans, with current Homestead exemptions increasing from $100,000 to $140,000. Halbrook calls this a more equitable option, and believes that low-income homeowners can reduce how much of their income is subject to property tax.
Both plans allocate about $3 billion to replace the district’s lost revenue.
“We are leveraging our budget surplus and strong economic status to provide permanent property tax mitigation for all Texans,” said R-University Park Rep. Morgan Meyer.
After the final legislative meeting, voters approved a proposal that would give homeowners $18 billion in property tax easing, through a combination of both chambers of commerce plans. Many local governments have since raised taxes to cover lost revenue and compensate for the fact that school funding has not increased since 2019.
Some say the only way to prevent this from happening again is to combine property tax relief with tax reform.
“We need to control how fast local government spending is moving.
Some Democrats admit that businesses are OK, but are concerned that schools could still suffer.
“I’ve heard about the business community and everyone will be happy. What does school say?” asked D-San Antonio, Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins.
The House combined the plan to reduce corporate taxes with the property tax mitigation plan by waiving the exemption from taxation.
“Small businesses in Texas save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, which will have a significant impact on Texas small businesses’ revenue,” said Glenn Hammer of the Texas Association.
Advocates believe that the House proposal will benefit small business tenants and clients in the long run, as owners can pass on those savings.
