DALLAS — Texans pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.
And that was proven yet again during the past few months as many Texas homeowners were shocked upon opening their appraisals and seeing the jump not only in the value of their property, but also in their proposed taxes.
Republican leaders made big promises before the regular session that they would lower our property taxes.
Yet here we are six months later, and in the middle of a second special session, and no relief is in sight.
"I described it at quorumreport.com this week as a legislative Vietnam," Scott Braddock, the editor of Quorum Report in Austin, told us on this week's episode of Y'all-itics. "They’ve made this promise to win on this, but there’s no path to getting out of it."
Braddock is the political insider's insider, and he thinks Republican leaders could possibly find agreement by the middle of July -- if for no other reason than they know full well that campaigns have consequences, and they have to deliver on their promises.
The issue is there are two competing plans.
The House version favors “tax rate compression,” or sending billions directly to school districts to lower that portion of your property tax bill, which is the highest component of it. The Senate plan, on the other hand, strongly supports increasing the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000. (The homestead exemption is the amount of a home’s value that can’t be taxed. For example, if passed, a homeowner with a $350,000 home would only pay taxes on $250,000.)
So far, though, Braddock says Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have shown no signs of compromise, or even communication.
"These guys are nowhere close to -- at least publicly -- they’re nowhere close to getting down to really negotiating on these things that are very important to Texans," Braddock says. "And, look, whatever you think of their various plans, they’ve got to do something."
The historic budget surplus in Texas is allowing for the potential for dramatic property tax cuts. But experts say that money will eventually run out and many question what the state would do to make up that difference. You might not like any of the options being discussed any better than the current system. So, listen to the entire episode of Y’all-itics to learn more. Cheers!