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What the Texas property-tax cut means for You
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1 Comments ::  :: South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, Bayview, Investment, Economy |
In May 2006, the Texas Legislature passed comprehensive school-finance reform that lowers school property taxes by about $7 billion over the next three years. What does that mean for you?
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
How much is the tax cut?
The rate for public school taxes will be reduced $0.17 per $100 of value for the 2006 tax year and $0.33 for the 2007 tax year.
Were other property taxes lowered by this legislation?
No, only public school taxes. Taxes for cities, counties, and other taxing authorities are not included in this tax cut.
What is the current public school tax rate?
The vast majority of school districts had reached the tax-rate cap of $1.50 per $100 of value. That $1.50 rate will go down to $1.33 for the 2006 tax year and down to $1 for the 2007 tax year.
My school tax rate is higher than $1.50 and has been for several years. How can that be?
The $1.50 cap applies to school maintenance and operations. A school district can exceed $1.50 if voters in that district pass bonds to pay for new schools and facilities. Amounts approved by local voters for school bonds are not affected by the tax cut.
My home’s appraisal value keeps going up. Won’t that negate the tax savings?
No. Your appraisal value was going up regardless of whether a tax-rate cut passed. Appraisals go up because property values up. The appraisal districts are charged with valuing property fairly and accurately. If the tax rate had not been cut, you would have paid tax at the higher tax rate on the same appraisal you received this year.
Isn’t this just a shell game?
My tax rate goes down, but my appraisal goes up. Tax rates and appraisals are separate components of your tax bill. When appraisals jump significantly, taxing authorities—like school districts, cities, and counties—can lower their tax rates, so that suddenly higher appraisals don’t equate to suddenly higher tax bills. Most do not.
Couldn’t the Legislature have done anything else to prevent taxes from creeping back up?
The Legislature did pass a measure that requires a vote by the people for local leaders to raise the school portion of property taxes more than $0.04 per $100.
You can learn more about the historic Texas property-tax cut benefits in this brochure (PDF) at: http://www.alicedonahue.com/Portals/0/uploads/TruthBrochure.pdf |
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By
mikead @
Monday, October 16, 2006 8:05 PM |
Task Force on Appraisal Reform to Hold Hearings in Harlingen, Corpus Christi
AUSTIN – The Task Force on Appraisal Reform will meet Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Harlingen and Thursday, Oct. 19, in Corpus Christi to take testimony on recommendations on how to address Texans' continuing concerns over skyrocketing property appraisals.
The hearings are part of a series of public hearings the task force is holding across the state to gather input from Texans on their recommendations to improve the current tax appraisal process.
The 15-member, bi-partisan task force was created by Gov. Rick Perry in August. He appointed Tom Pauken of Dallas to chair the advisory group. John David Franz of Hidalgo, near Harlingen, is serving as a member of the task force. The other members of the task force are Gerald "Buddy" Winn of Bryan, Robert A. Eckels of Harris County, Avis Wukasch of Georgetown, Calvin W. Stephens of Dallas, John E. Nichols of Freeport, Michael S. Stevens of Houston, John R. (Bob) Garrett of Tyler, L. Curtis Culwell of Garland, Timothy P. Roth of El Paso, Gary O. Boren of Lubbock, Robert E. Garrett of Amarillo, Brooke Leslie Rollins of Fort Worth and Rolando B. Pablos of San Antonio.
"Earlier this year, we provided Texas property owners with the largest property tax cut in state history - a 33 percent reduction in their school property tax rates over the next two years," Perry said. "Now we need to address the rest of that equation: the silent tax hikes of rising appraisals."
Perry wants the commission to develop its own independent recommendations while keeping the plight of the taxpaying public foremost on its mind. |
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