Texas House rolls out its plan to reduce property taxes

AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows has thrown his support behind legislation aimed at driving down property taxes by sending billions of dollars to school districts and giving small businesses more tax exemptions. House Bill 8 by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, proposes sending $3.5 billion to school districts to bring down the taxes collected from homeowners and businesses. House Bill 9, also by Meyer, would spend $700 million on tax relief for small businesses — increasing the amount of personal property exemptions they can claim for things like office furniture and equipment. A companion constitutional amendment is required to increase the exemption and would need support from two-thirds of the House and Senate and a majority of voters in November. “The Texas House is taking action to reduce Texans’ property tax burden and keep our state the best in the nation for starting and growing a business,” Burrows, R-Lubbock, said in a statement. “The House looks forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to deliver the relief Texans deserve this session.”

Budget drafts filed by both the House and Senate include $3.5 billion for new property tax relief. How the two chambers hammer out an agreement on the best way to return that money to taxpayers remains to be seen, as the two approaches differ dramatically — and mirror a fight that tied up the House and Senate for months two years ago. The House bills would not increase the $100,000 homestead exemption — the core concept of a plan already passed by the Texas Senate that would target homeowners for relief with $140,000 exempted from home values. Senate Bill 4 by Senate Local Government Committee Chairman Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, includes the increased homestead exemption and is a priority of Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate. It also requires voters to approve a constitutional amendment. The state is already committed to spending $3 billion over the next two years, approved in 2023, for tax compression — when the state supplements school district maintenance and operations expenses so the districts can charge lower tax rates on homeowners and businesses.