Time for a Taxpayers Rebellion!
Over $5.5 billion in new bond initiatives is being proposed on the November ballot. You have likely seen us writing about this. 39 entities are proposing more than double what was on the May 2012 ballot. These initiatives are property tax increases.
Hats off to TPPF for the good work they are doing on property taxes in Texas!
https://www.texaspolicy.com/center/fiscal-policy/opinions/bury-texas-property-taxes
Local governments have gone wild spending and incurring debt. We at Americans for Prosperity have long been concerned about the rapid increase in property taxes in Texas. Property taxes based on appraisals end up taxing unrealized values and ultimately driving many homeowners out of their homes. While property tax rates are often increasing, in Texas the property values are increasing more rapidly and local officials hide behind the skirts of the appraisers and claim they haven’t raised taxes when they didn’t need to raise the rates to dig deeper into taxpayers’ pocketbooks. Texas has the second highest local government debt in the country and that is an additional strain on our property taxes. We are taxed to the max!
We also applaud the Austin area taxpayer advocates like Dr. Laura Pressley and Bob Parmalee. The following is a statement by Bob:
It is clearly time for Travis County taxpayers to rise in rebellion. A new study released by the Texas Public Policy Foundation reveals Travis County as the most overtaxed county in Texas. If the average Austinite were magically transported to the San Antonio he would see his taxes decease by $930. And yet in full view of this shocking reality, another set of tax dogs have been loosed on the public. The most egregious is the proposal to increase the Central Health property tax by another $107.49 (Statesman, September 27th), an effort led by Kirk Watson and others of the affluent class. These people pretend to care about their plantation poor, but excess property taxes fall most cruelly on the middle class and those in rental housing — for rents will rise if Watson’s scheme passes, as surely as night follows sunset. Moreover, as the proposed health tax proposes a statewide benefit, any costs should be borne by the entire State of Texas, not misplaced on the overburdened backs of Austin taxpayers. - Bob Parmelee
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