Property Taxes up 12% In 2022 Despite Legislature’s Promise of Tax Relief
Despite efforts by the Texas Legislature in 2019 and 2021 to provide property tax relief for Texans, the Texas Comptroller’s office reports that last year property tax revenue for local taxing entities increased by $8.9 billion, or 12.17%.
The 12.17% property tax increase is hard to understand given the limits the Texas Legislature put on property tax revenue growth in 2019. It turns out, however, that the Legislature’s limits on property tax growth leak like a sieve and allow property taxes to grow much faster than anticipated.
With the Texas Legislature sitting on an unprecedented $64 billion in new revenue, it is possible to provide real and lasting property tax relief for Texans by eliminating the school maintenance and operations (M&O) property tax in as few as 4 years. But in order to do this, the Legislature must use all of the current $32 billion surplus to provide property tax relief and change the current dysfunctional property tax system by taking these steps:
Limit state spending growth to no more than 5% per biennium
Freeze school M&O property taxes
Use 90% of future Texas budget surpluses to buydown M&O property taxes
Require voter approval for local governments and special districts to exceed the no-new-revenue tax rate
