No more property tax in TX?

[toddnjoyce]

Real problem is Gov spending. That won't change.

I don’t know about y’all, but the .gov side of my property tax bill is quite a bit smaller than the ISD side. More than half my property tax bill belongs to Boerne ISD.

I’ve yet to see a school district not get a bond passed by the voters. That bond is debt paid for directly thru school taxes as is the ISD’s maintenance and operation fund. ISDs are drunken sailors compared to even democrat Congresses when it comes to spending.

 

[toddnjoyce]

That’s what it use to be here in Texas

That was most, if not all of America prior to the late 1800s.

 

[TXAZ]

Yup, they gotta make up that huge difference in revenue somehow.

That or become a deep blue state, piling up the debt…

 

[Polkwright]

So....a sales tax means the government would have less money to spend and taxpayers would have more control over their tax expenditures.....

....what's the bad side?

Nobody's talking about reducing tax revenue. Just the source.

 

[oldag]

If the money for those things are shifted to other taxes, those things wouldn't happen. They may well "chose" to starve to death, but they at least won't lose their home in the process..

That is seriously oversimplified.

 

[ILexpatriot]

That is seriously oversimplified.

It sure is.. Did you expect a couple sentences to be a complete plan for how to make something incredibly complicated happen?

 

[oldag]

It sure is.. Did you expect a couple sentences to be a complete plan for how to make something incredibly complicated happen?

I was referring to your assumptions.

 

[ILexpatriot]

I was referring to your assumptions.

Ok. Thanks..

 

[Tnhawk]

If the money for those things are shifted to other taxes, those things wouldn't happen. They may well "chose" to starve to death, but they at least won't lose their home in the process..

Most of us would prefer more options than starve to death or lose our homes.

 

[Grumps21]

Problem in my area with property taxes is that I have to pay for my neighbor’s improvements. All of the houses in my area were built from mid-late ‘70s, and they are all kept up in a middle class area. My immediate neighbor sold his house in 2020 for $250k. Flipper bought it and spent about 3 or 4 months gutting it and replacing stuff. It sold for $425k. Another one across the street and down one. Same thing with a flipper. Several just on my street alone that were flipped for stupid money, and my taxes are going up because of it. Tax man sees $ per sft transaction prices and assumes all of the houses are similar. Every year I have to take time off work and show pictures of my house with no updates, problem is, I don’t have pics of the flipped houses that are similar to mine to show a comparison.
I’d rather have a sales tax and ditch property taxes.

 

[popper]

School district IS Gov. So Plano just finished fixing 544 with concrete, now is black-topping it? Plano cops make 70K$ annum., starting. Teachers about the same. Most cities overcharge for water, then transfer excess to general budget. Lots of tricks like that. Road work? One working and 2 in the truck to observe.
County/SD can freeze taxes for over 65 homestead but either rate or assessed value can increase. Go fight your prop tax, 'frozen' they say - but look at the tax bill. Not!

 

[angel71rs]

Problem in my area with property taxes is that I have to pay for my neighbor’s improvements. All of the houses in my area were built from mid-late ‘70s, and they are all kept up in a middle class area. My immediate neighbor sold his house in 2020 for $250k. Flipper bought it and spent about 3 or 4 months gutting it and replacing stuff. It sold for $425k. Another one across the street and down one. Same thing with a flipper. Several just on my street alone that were flipped for stupid money, and my taxes are going up because of it. Tax man sees $ per sft transaction prices and assumes all of the houses are similar. Every year I have to take time off work and show pictures of my house with no updates, problem is, I don’t have pics of the flipped houses that are similar to mine to show a comparison.
I’d rather have a sales tax and ditch property taxes.

Go to zillow.com, enter the addresses, and they will have pics of the houses, even for years after the sale.

 

[jimbo]

Most of us would prefer more options than starve to death or lose our homes.

For sure!!

 

[Tex929rr]

So I’ve been on my local school board for 8 years (I’m done in November) and for the last year on my local appraisal district board. I’ve learned more than I ever thought about local taxes. Some information:
Appraisal districts are entities contracted by taxing entities for appraisal and collections. Entities could do it themselves but it’s not worth the expense of creating a separate department. The state comptroller provides the guidance based on laws passed by the legislature. Some things are state driven; for one example the new 100K homestead exemption. Almost everything else is a local decision. For example, in Kendall county the county and school districts provide an exemption for homestead and disabled persons; the city of Boerne doesn’t.

Every time a taxing entity creates an exemption, the appraisal district has to spend time evaluating who qualifies and for some it’s a recurring obligation. So that is more work for the appraisal distinct that brings in less money for the taxing entities. And the taxing entities pay for appraisal district operations (it’s split up based on taxes collected for each entity).

With one recent exception, appraisal district board members are appointees of the taxing entities, again based on taxes collected. A recent change is that in bigger counties some seats are now elected. My county is still too small. In Kendall county, Boerne gets 1 board member, the county gets one, Comfort ISD gets one, Boerne ISD gets three, and the other entities (MUDs and water districts ) get the last one.

So except for the newly elected members, the board members represent the taxing entities and not the voters.

Even in a relatively small county like Kendall, an astonishing number of lawsuits get filed over appraisals. And every one costs money to either fight or reach a settlement.

Taxing entities routinely file appraisal challenges and then the state comptroller does a values survey and decides if the values were correctly determined. Generally the state pushes for higher valuations. We just passed surveys for both of the school districts we serve.

I’m not making any judgements about any of this - just trying to provide information. I highly encourage you to go to your county appraisal district board site and read up the information on taxes and exemptions.

 

[rogerdmillerco]

After historic tax cuts, Texas lawmakers evaluate eliminating property taxes entirely

Last year, after months of negotiating, the Texas legislature approved an $18 billion package of property tax cuts. Now, the Texas Senate evaluated going even f

cbsaustin.com

AUSTIN, Texas Last year, after months of negotiating, the Texas legislature approved an $18 billion package of property tax cuts. Now, the Texas Senate evaluated going even further, potentially eliminating property taxes entirely.

On Wednesday, the Texas Senate Committee on Finance took testimony on what further property tax cuts would look like, particularly by cutting school district property taxes, or property taxes entirely. Some Senators on both sides of the aisle appeared skeptical of such holistic tax eliminations, but inclined to further cuts.

View attachment 472399

Eliminating property taxes would simply mean adopting a state income tax. We are going to have one or the other.

 

[Tnhawk]

Eliminating property taxes would simply mean adopting a state income tax. We are going to have one or the other.

Most states have both, rather than rely heavily on one source of funding.

 

[ILexpatriot]

Eliminating property taxes would simply mean adopting a state income tax. We are going to have one or the other.

I'm not here to solve the problems of the world. I posted an article and opined that people not loosing their homes over taxes was a good thing in my book. If it happens, or even how it happens, short of who I vote for, is pretty much out of my hands.

 

[Ntxglock]

Reduced taxation = less social services. Who needs
social services? (such as Wick, star cards for
food, Medicaid services in general).

The vulnerable are better served. But it ends there.
Grayson County has become ridiculous re: property
taxes. Grayson County needs a complete change in County government
Politicians

 

[majormadmax]

The only way Texas will drop property tax in lieu of income tax is if it finds it can generate more revenue by doing so.

Never presume the government is looking out for your best interests!

And if you believe the government would actually lower taxes, you are sadly mistaken!