Texas Scorecard 7/11/2019 By Dennis Tibbs
Many seniors and disabled with tax freezes simply will not see a dime of the so-called tax relief.For decades, seniors and disabled taxpayers have been allowed to have their property taxes “frozen†at the dollar amount paid as of their 65th birthday or their disability. After paying taxes for 50 years or so, many look forward to a slight tax break once their earning years are behind them.
Recently, however, we’ve begun to see a trend potentially leading to the elimination of the freeze. For instance, here in Montgomery County, our commissioners court reluctantly passed a 20 percent homestead exemption in 2016. It was hailed as “Huge!†Many, including several on the commissioners court, benefited with large tax reductions of $500 to $600. Closer inspection, though, revealed that most senior citizens received zero! This oversight happened, simply stated, because of the lack of coordination between the freeze and the homestead exemption. The blame for this loss by seniors can be shared equally between the Texas Legislature and the MoCo Commissioners Court.
Fast forward to the 86th Legislature. Our legislators did work hard to pass some sort of tax (relief) legislation, namely House Bill 3. The big questions are: Is the relief significant, is it fair, and is it consistent?
The relief/reform is part tax rate reduction and part restriction of tax revenue growth. There is concern as to whether that $5 billion will actually go to rate reduction or be viewed as compensation to offset restrictions on revenue growth. Time will tell.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/commentary/commentary-seniors-get-stiffed-on-5b-tax-relief/
