Texas scorecard by Darrell Frost February 6, 2023
In an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News, real estate developer and former State Sen. Don Huffines explains how lawmakers can phase out a portion of school property taxes within 8 to 10 years.
Huffines was one of several candidates who challenged Gov. Greg Abbott during last year’s Republican primary, and while he fell short in his campaign to unseat the incumbent governor, he succeeded in popularizing solutions to certain longstanding, problematic issues such as the border crisis and rising property taxes. Eventually, Abbott was forced to respond to these concerns, and during his only debate with Democrat challenger Beto O’Rourke, he said his “goal is to eliminate the school property tax that’s imposed in the state of Texas, so that people can genuinely own their own home without being taxed out of it.”
Abbott has yet to provide specific details about his plan for eliminating the locally assessed tax on property for funding public school operating budgets, and Texans are waiting to learn whether this issue will be among the emergency legislative priorities announced during his upcoming state of the state address.
In his op-ed, Huffines argues that lawmakers should transfer the financial obligation for funding public schools from local property owners to the state, thereby eliminating property taxes for school maintenance and operations (M&O).
He believes this process could be completed within 8 to 10 years if the Legislature does three things:
1. Limit the growth of state government to about 2.5 percent annually
2. Dedicate 90 percent of the current and future state budget surpluses to “buying down” school M&O property taxes
3. Restrict school districts from raising property taxes further
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/former-abbott-rival-proposes-plan-for-eliminating-school-property-taxes/
