Texas Scorecard By Ross Kecseg August 12, 2020
Kecseg: Did Abbott’s ‘Tax Relief’ Reduce School Property Taxes?
As warned by grassroots leaders, the governor’s “relief†plan actually resulted in higher property tax bills for most homeowners.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s property tax relief plan was largely a failure—unless you consider paying a bigger tax bill “relief.â€
Texans now have hard data by which they can judge Republican’s so-called “historic†accomplishment of 2019—House Bill 3.
Some lawmakers, such as State Rep. Jeff Leach (R–Plano), sent out newsletters selling what was originally a $2.7 billion package as a “monumental†success.
It wasn’t, unless you support growing government rather than cutting property taxes. It all comes down to the math.
Republicans were later forced to double the amount thanks to grassroots pressure and a few savvy senators who are better at arithmetic.
With the “relief†doubled, Abbott and his “purple†session parade touted the claim that HB 3 “cut†school property taxes using $5.1 billion of the state’s “historic†$10.5 billion surplus.
There’s just one problem: the data show it still was not enough to cut taxes for most Texans.
The average Dallas ISD homeowner paid a school property tax bill of $2,873 in 2018. In 2019, after HB 3’s “relief,†that number grew 2.5 percent to $2,949.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/commentary/kecseg-did-abbotts-tax-relief-reduce-school-property-taxes/
