Legislation creating a landmark $18 billion tax cut for property owners in the state won approval in the Texas House on Thursday, sending the plan to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. TX kprc2 click2hou propertytaxes
“We now have a record-setting plan that will affect every family, every individual, every business, every operation in this state pretty much, for the next several decades,” said Houston Republican Sen.The package puts $12.6 billion of the state’stoward making cuts to school taxes for all property owners, dropping property taxes an average of more than 40% for some 5.
The package’s marquee item is a $5.3 billion expansion of the state’s homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000. Bettencourt said the new exemption combined with the school tax cuts would save homesteaders — Texans who live in a residence they own — an average of $1,300 a year in property taxes. Leaders have referred to that part of the bill as a “circuit breaker” program, but it’s somewhat of a misnomer. Unlike programs in other parts of the country with the same name, the Texas proposal does not calculate property taxes based on a person’s income or ability to pay, nor does it specifically seek to benefit lower-income taxpayers.Including more than $5 billion approved four years ago, the legislation also allocates nearly $12.6 billion to reduce the school property tax rate by 10.
$4 billion in new public education funding has been tied up since the regular legislative session amid an ongoingover school vouchers. In response to the calls for more money for schools and raises for teachers, senators proposed a one-time teacher pay bonus late last month as part of their tax-cut legislation. But that proposal ultimately didn’t end up in the final compromise, with House members saying teacher pay should be considered in separate legislation.
While the plan won applause from a variety of advocacy groups and organizations across the political spectrum, few agreed it was a perfect plan., D-Laredo, said Wednesday.
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