The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: Elderberry on April 10, 2019, 09:20:18 pm
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Houston Chronicle by Allie Morris and Jeremy Wallace 4/10/2019
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the leaders of the Texas Legislature are throwing their support behind a plan to raise sales taxes by 1 percentage point in an effort to then reduce property taxes. The plan, however, would ultimately go before Texas voters, who could decide as early as November whether to make the tax trade.
The tax swap plan would increase the state portion of sales taxes to 7.25 percent, tying California for the highest rate in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. With local-option increases of up to two percent, the sales tax would be 9.25 percent in most of Texas. That means residents buying a $1,000 television would now pay $92.50 in sales tax, a jump of $10.
Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, put out a joint statement to the media touting the tax swap.
“If the one-cent increase in the sales tax passes, it will result in billions of dollars in revenue to help drive down property taxes in the short and long term,†the statement said.
The proposal is the latest attempt by the Republican-led Legislature to address growing property taxes. Lawmakers have also pitched plans to cap yearly property tax increases enacted by cities, counties and school districts. Yet another proposal would increase the homestead exemption for property owners, reducing the taxable value of their homes.
More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Gov-Abbott-top-lawmakers-push-1-percent-sales-13756344.php (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Gov-Abbott-top-lawmakers-push-1-percent-sales-13756344.php)
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Abbott is about to lose my vote.
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Taxed Enough Already
At some point, you simply have to say "No More" and place a limit on what government can spend.
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Abbott is about to lose my vote.
For clarity, you mean in the primary, right?
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For clarity, you mean in the primary, right?
Primary, yes. General election, I would have to think about it.
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So instead of property owners bearing the brunt of school cost...everyone would?
I'll have to give it some thought. *hmmmm*
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So instead of property owners bearing the brunt of school cost...everyone would?
Give the parents vouchers, and let the schools fend for themselves. Empower principles to hire/fire at will within the budget that their school derived through vouchers plus tuition. Then close the schools that suddenly don't have any students.
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So instead of property owners bearing the brunt of school cost...everyone would?
I'll have to give it some thought. *hmmmm*
And, you could somewhat control what you spent.
But they really need to consider cutting spending.
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Seems this move would assure more people shop out of state ala Amazon.
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Seems this move would assure more people shop out of state ala Amazon.
But, we pay sales taxes on Amazon purchases.
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But, we pay sales taxes on Amazon purchases.
You might, but I certainly do not on all.
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You might, but I certainly do not on all.
I need to know how to do that!
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You might, but I certainly do not on all.
By all means, won't you share how you do that?
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So instead of property owners bearing the brunt of school cost...everyone would?
I'll have to give it some thought. *hmmmm*
There is a third option. Find ways to be more efficient in school spending.
Voters here recently turned down a $60 million bond issue, (for the second time), because the school system is whining about not having enough money. The same school system just built a monstrosity of a High School, poorly designed in some aspects, and now claim it isn't big enough.
In the meantime, drilling activity has slowed and leveled off, people are leaving the area, and projections were based on a continuing boom.
The vote, for the second time, indicates that people are no longer knee-jerking when the educrats say they need more money.
About time the education industry got a lesson in economics.
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Abbott, Patrick, and Bonnen Propose Sales Tax Increase
“If the 1-cent increase in the sales tax passes, it will result in billions of dollars in revenue to help drive down property taxes in the short and long term.â€
By Brandon Waltens|April 10, 2019
https://texasscorecard.com/state/abbott-patrick-and-bonnen-propose-sales-tax-increase/ (https://texasscorecard.com/state/abbott-patrick-and-bonnen-propose-sales-tax-increase/)
Texas’ “big three†statewide leaders have begun to coalesce around a proposed solution to delivering property tax relief this session: raising the sales tax.
In a joint statement released on Wednesday, Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced their new policy goal:
Texans are fed up with skyrocketing property taxes. At the beginning of the legislative session, the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker laid out an agenda for property tax relief through the passage of Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2 to limit property tax growth. In addition to that effort, today we are introducing a sales tax proposal to buy down property tax rates for all Texas homeowners and businesses, once Senate Bill 2 or House Bill 2 is agreed to and passed by both chambers. If the 1-cent increase in the sales tax passes, it will result in billions of dollars in revenue to help drive down property taxes in the short and long term.
More at link
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Without a plan to drive down property taxes this looks a lot like just another tax hick. Property taxes go to the county and school districts. Sales taxes go to the state. I guess the idea is that the state could do more for the local gov so that local gov would not raise PT. I'd need to see the details. Sounds like a bait and switch.
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Re: Gov. Abbott, top lawmakers push to raise sales tax to 7.25 percent
Not unless they lower property taxes first.
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So instead of property owners bearing the brunt of school cost...everyone would?
I'll have to give it some thought. *hmmmm*
Reality is that renters are paying the property tax. Landlords are not charity organizations. All the cost of those in that business, including taxes, is paid by the renters.
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I can't disagree @thackney . I was in property management my whole working life.
However...people in rentals pay rent (includes all expenses relative). People in homes make a house payment AND pay property taxes (insurance and repairs).
I don't mind if we all share in the cost of property taxes for education and a reduction of property tax. Wouldn't landlords also enjoy that reduction? How exactly that would work will be interesting to see. Will the extra one per cent go to each county pro rata?
I just had another thought...filing the sales tax returns would be a nightmare. The Texas tax laws can give a person gray hair as it is.
(Since it probably won't pass...I'll wait to see...)
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Good luck, Texas.
Almost like Taxes.
Our experience in Calif, has been: Government is a hungry monster. It will use any means, to get your money.
Promised money for roads, will go for commuter lanes and bicycle lanes.
High speed trains will devour $billions, and end not completed. The highly popular leeg from scenic Bakersfield, to Merced might getbuilt.
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Without a plan to drive down property taxes this looks a lot like just another tax hick. Property taxes go to the county and school districts. Sales taxes go to the state. I guess the idea is that the state could do more for the local gov so that local gov would not raise PT. I'd need to see the details. Sounds like a bait and switch.
Those who live in apartment complexes should be forced to pay a surcharge to the local school district. Call me a racist, but the vast majority of apartment complexes are filled with H-1b families. My ISD has gone from majority white to 50% Indian over the past ten years. The carryover from their culture, the caste system, permeates the interpersonal dynamics as well. Assimilation is not a concern for most of them.
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Those who live in apartment complexes should be forced to pay a surcharge to the local school district. Call me a racist, but the vast majority of apartment complexes are filled with H-1b families.
Racist.
btw, an influx of Asian kids into your school will cause standards to INCREASE, not decrease. Asian kids perform better than your average American cracker kid. Their admissions standard into college is more stringent as well. White kids get points for signing their name on the application that Asian kids don't get. It's called 'affirmative action'. It is also the reason that Asian kids perform better, since their parents already know the deck is stacked against them.
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This would only work if the government would hold to it's word on eliminating or drastically reducing property tax.
I don't believe they will. I know almost every city and district will jump in and fill the gap back up with their own rates.
I would love to see sales tax be the only tax because it gives citizens another vote with their consumer choices (don't like what the government is doing, withhold taxible spending). But I don't trust them not to make this just a net increase overall.
In many areas, the Texas Republican legislature is spitting on voters.
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Those who live in apartment complexes should be forced to pay a surcharge to the local school district. Call me a racist, but the vast majority of apartment complexes are filled with H-1b families. My ISD has gone from majority white to 50% Indian over the past ten years. The carryover from their culture, the caste system, permeates the interpersonal dynamics as well. Assimilation is not a concern for most of them.
They do through their rent.
The property owner says the property tax on the full assessed value of the complex. That goes toward his expense calculation when determining rental rates. It may not be a line item on their rent bill, but it is a part of where it goes.
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There is a third option. Find ways to be more efficient in school spending.
Voters here recently turned down a $60 million bond issue, (for the second time), because the school system is whining about not having enough money. The same school system just built a monstrosity of a High School, poorly designed in some aspects, and now claim it isn't big enough.
In the meantime, drilling activity has slowed and leveled off, people are leaving the area, and projections were based on a continuing boom.
The vote, for the second time, indicates that people are no longer knee-jerking when the educrats say they need more money.
About time the education industry got a lesson in economics.
In the past our local voters would shoot down just about every bond issue that would come up. In the last few years everything has changed they tend to support about every bond issue. The change is that the senior citizen's property taxes are frozen, so a rise in taxes does NOT affect them and they are the ones who in the past rejected the bond issues.
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In the past our local voters would shoot down just about every bond issue that would come up. In the last few years everything has changed they tend to support about every bond issue. The change is that the senior citizen's property taxes are frozen, so a rise in taxes does NOT affect them and they are the ones who in the past rejected the bond issues.
Exactly... And political marketers and city government's know this and target these communities more than others. I've even seen the overtly sell it as 'it won't effect your rates so vote for it...'
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Racist.
btw, an influx of Asian kids into your school will cause standards to INCREASE, not decrease. Asian kids perform better than your average American cracker kid. Their admissions standard into college is more stringent as well. White kids get points for signing their name on the application that Asian kids don't get. It's called 'affirmative action'. It is also the reason that Asian kids perform better, since their parents already know the deck is stacked against them.
We're both racists, with your use of "cracker".
We're also talking about different kinds of "Asians", friend. These kids are great at performing tasks according to a checklist. Like their parents, there's not a great deal of critical thinking that goes on...perfect students for our modern public education system.
Teachers now primarily "teach to the test", something we never had to deal with in school. I grew up when the CA public schools were still excellent. For example, we read The Count of Monte Cristo as a class when I was in 6th grade. I tested at a 12th grade reading level in sixth grade, too.
Apartment complexes, as commercial property, enjoy a lower tax rate than homeowners. They're notorious for turning a blind eye when it comes to multiple families living in the same apartment. The parents of those students are paying much less for those of us in single family homes.
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Without a plan to drive down property taxes this looks a lot like just another tax hick. Property taxes go to the county and school districts. Sales taxes go to the state. I guess the idea is that the state could do more for the local gov so that local gov would not raise PT. I'd need to see the details. Sounds like a bait and switch.
It is a bait and switch. County assessors will just raise the property values to make up the difference.
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It is a bait and switch. County assessors will just raise the property values to make up the difference.
And, that's the truth!
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It is a bait and switch. County assessors will just raise the property values to make up the difference.
Yep
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We're both racists, with your use of "cracker".
That's "Mr. Cracker" to you.
We're also talking about different kinds of "Asians", friend. These kids are great at performing tasks according to a checklist. Like their parents, there's not a great deal of critical thinking that goes on...perfect students for our modern public education system.
They still have higher admission standards than the white kids. And they perform better than the white kids, too. And their parents choose to live in the districts with the better schools. There wouldn't be an 'American Dream' without them.
Apartment complexes, as commercial property, enjoy a lower tax rate than homeowners. They're notorious for turning a blind eye when it comes to multiple families living in the same apartment. The parents of those students are paying much less for those of us in single family homes.
As commercial property, the appraised value of said property is considerably higher than the value of private residential property. As for multiple families in the same apartment, the same holds true for houses.
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It is a bait and switch. County assessors will just raise the property values to make up the difference.
That does seem to seem the history of the situation...doesn't it?
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Without a plan to drive down property taxes this looks a lot like just another tax hick. Property taxes go to the county and school districts. Sales taxes go to the state. I guess the idea is that the state could do more for the local gov so that local gov would not raise PT. I'd need to see the details. Sounds like a bait and switch.
Do you have a production tax on oil and gas in Texas? We do in ND, and a portion of those monies are earmarked for property tax relief (primarily to fund schools). How that comes back to benefit the areas where Oil and Gas are produced, is that those are areas where property tax assessments are likely to spike with the 'boom', and the relief skews to those areas because of the property value increase. While the entire state benefits from oil production in 17 out of 53 counties, the areas hardest hit by reassessments get more relief, dollar wise.
It works.
That doesn't stop school districts form seeking more funding from other means, bond issues, etc., but Local Bond issues must be approved by 60% of the voters in the school district, and there is a distinct tendency for voters not to be as forthcoming with their hard won money as the Schools would like.
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In the past our local voters would shoot down just about every bond issue that would come up. In the last few years everything has changed they tend to support about every bond issue. The change is that the senior citizen's property taxes are frozen, so a rise in taxes does NOT affect them and they are the ones who in the past rejected the bond issues.
I'd love to see that freeze on senior's property taxes.
Heck, I'd love for the property tax to be eliminated completely. That way you own your property, you don't rent it from the Government (how feudal!)
But if there is to be a property tax at all, then let a house (or undeveloped land) be taxed based on the last price for which it sold. (fair market value at the time of sale), and that price could be adjusted for inflation, but not for the real estate market. I think that might help stabilize neighborhoods, too, where the folks who bought that house in 1947 and paid $5,000.00 for it (and still live there) aren't being taxed based on someone's current price of 350K for the same dwelling, so long as they own it and live there. When it sells next, it can be revalued, and taxed at that higher sale price (or lower, as the case may be). Adjusted for inflation, the owners of that $5,000.00 property bought in 1947 would be paying taxes on a property valued at $58,426.28 in 2019 dollars.
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I'd love to see that freeze on senior's property taxes.
Heck, I'd love for the property tax to be eliminated completely. That way you own your property, you don't rent it from the Government (how feudal!)
But if there is to be a property tax at all, then let a house (or undeveloped land) be taxed based on the last price for which it sold. (fair market value at the time of sale), and that price could be adjusted for inflation, but not for the real estate market. I think that might help stabilize neighborhoods, too, where the folks who bought that house in 1947 and paid $5,000.00 for it (and still live there) aren't being taxed based on someone's current price of 350K for the same dwelling, so long as they own it and live there. When it sells next, it can be revalued, and taxed at that higher sale price (or lower, as the case may be). Adjusted for inflation, the owners of that $5,000.00 property bought in 1947 would be paying taxes on a property valued at $58,426.28 in 2019 dollars.
In FL, your appraised value for taxation cannot be increased by more than (I think) 3% per year. The idea is that (primarily) seniors (/fixed income) can't be priced out of their homes just because people suddenly want to move into the area.
I actually got a bit lucky there with the housing bust driving prices way down. Eventually, they came right back up, but the cap only applies in one direction.
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In FL, your appraised value for taxation cannot be increased by more than (I think) 3% per year. The idea is that (primarily) seniors (/fixed income) can't be priced out of their homes just because people suddenly want to move into the area.
I actually got a bit lucky there with the housing bust driving prices way down. Eventually, they came right back up, but the cap only applies in one direction.
I got lucky here, bought after an oil boom went bust in the 80s, after the housing market had made some severe downward adjustments.
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In FL, your appraised value for taxation cannot be increased by more than (I think) 3% per year.
In Georgia, they figure out how much money they need, and then set appraisals accordingly.
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Without a plan to drive down property taxes this looks a lot like just another tax hick. Property taxes go to the county and school districts. Sales taxes go to the state. I guess the idea is that the state could do more for the local gov so that local gov would not raise PT. I'd need to see the details. Sounds like a bait and switch.
Unless there is something codified into law that forces counties, cities and independent school district to reduce taxes, anyone that believes this bait and switch, is a country fool.
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Those who live in apartment complexes should be forced to pay a surcharge to the local school district. Call me a racist, but the vast majority of apartment complexes are filled with H-1b families. My ISD has gone from majority white to 50% Indian over the past ten years. The carryover from their culture, the caste system, permeates the interpersonal dynamics as well. Assimilation is not a concern for most of them.
They do pay property taxes, just not directly.
The property taxes that the landlord pays is included in the tenant's rent.
They just don't send an itemized bill that says $ for rent and $ for taxes, but they are collecting it from their tenants.
Just like anything you buy, you are also paying that persons ot corporations taxes, merely by buying their products.
They mark it up to collect them.
They say corporations don't pay taxes and that is true in a sense.
It is built into their selling price to you and I.
Where's @Bigun to help me explain?
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In the past our local voters would shoot down just about every bond issue that would come up. In the last few years everything has changed they tend to support about every bond issue. The change is that the senior citizen's property taxes are frozen, so a rise in taxes does NOT affect them and they are the ones who in the past rejected the bond issues.
In Texas, the property taxes are frozen when you hit 65, this is true, but the school taxes are not.
They can continue to rise.
In my home (I am not yet 65) the largest portion of my property taxes is the school taxes.
I have seen a large jump in that last decade, from roughly $1700 to $3000.
My home is appraised at approximately $160K.
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Hey, all you fellow Texans, do you remember when the sold us on the idea of the lottery by saying it was for education?
Not so much, part maybe, by default, as it goes into the general fund.
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Hey, all you fellow Texans, do you remember when the sold us on the idea of the lottery by saying it was for education?
Not so much, part maybe, by default, as it goes into the general fund.
I do remember that, GT. I also remember how Ma Richards ran away from that like a jackrabbit running from a coyote.
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They do pay property taxes, just not directly.
The property taxes that the landlord pays is included in the tenant's rent.
They just don't send an itemized bill that says $ for rent and $ for taxes, but they are collecting it from their tenants.
Just like anything you buy, you are also paying that persons ot corporations taxes, merely by buying their products.
They mark it up to collect them.
They say corporations don't pay taxes and that is true in a sense.
It is built into their selling price to you and I.
Where's @Bigun to help me explain?
@GrouchoTex
You got that right!
Everyone here knows that I would prefer a sales tax over property taxes or an income tax but the problem we have here is that there is no mechanism in ANY current bill that would ensure an increase in the sales tax rate goes entirely to reducing property taxes. Without that, I'm a firm no!
We Texans also have a problem in that while we have large Republican majorities in both houses of the legislature we have nothing like conservative majorities in either.
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the problem we have here is that there is no mechanism in ANY current bill that would ensure an increase in the sales tax rate goes entirely to reducing property taxes. Without that, I'm a firm no!
Exactly. Never trust government. Ever.