The Texas Tribune
  • Our Picks
  • Data
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
  • Our Picks
  • Data
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Donate

Analysis: Property taxes in Texas are high. Don’t expect the Legislature to change that.

Texas leaders are promising property tax relief during this year's legislative session. It's unlikely that will lower your taxes, but it might slow future increases.

by Ross Ramsey Jan. 18, 201912 AM

Republish
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen hold a joint press conference on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 9, 2019.
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen hold a joint press conference on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 9, 2019. Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune

Texas Legislature 2019

The 86th Legislature runs from Jan. 8 to May 27. From the state budget to health care to education policy — and the politics behind it all — we focus on what Texans need to know about the biennial legislative session.

 More in this series 

Editor's note: If you'd like an email notice whenever we publish Ross Ramsey's column, click here.

Restrain, reform, rein in, restrict and limit are not synonyms for the word Texas property taxpayers crave: cut.

This is an alert: Your property taxes will not be falling, in spite of all the talk about easing property taxes that is emanating from the Texas Capitol.

State lawmakers can’t make property tax rates come down. They’ve tried. It didn’t make rates come down. And even trying is expensive: It would cost the state just under $2.5 billion to replace a dime’s worth of local school property taxes; that is, to lower the property tax rate by ten cents. On a $250,000 home, that would amount to overall savings of about $20 per month in property taxes.

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.

But the state of Texas doesn’t levy property taxes — that’s the job of local governments. And it has proved to be impossible for state lawmakers to lower taxes they don’t control.

They can try to create conditions that could lower property taxes, increasing the state’s share of the costs of big programs like public education, public health, criminal justice and mental health. But because they don’t control either the appraisals of real estate or the tax rates imposed on those properties, Texas state lawmakers cannot guarantee a cut in your property taxes.

They hear a lot about it in town hall meetings and campaign visits, though, so you can’t blame them for trying.

The best recent example was in 2006, when then-Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature embarked on an ambitious rebalancing of public school finance that included what was supposed to be a swap that raised state taxes on corporations in return for lower local school property taxes.

The swap amounted to a $7 billion reduction in what Texans would have paid without it, the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a business trade group, said at the time. But taxes didn’t drop. And Perry’s explicit promise that the average homeowner would save $2,000 came back to bite him during the 2006 race for governor.

Then-Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a Republican running for governor as an independent, ran a commercial that started with Perry’s ad running on a TV set. The script:

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Perry: “We kept our promises to you. The average homeowner will receive a $2,000 tax cut.”

Strayhorn: “Have you gotten your $2,000 property tax cut yet? Don’t go running to your mailbox. Turns out, most seniors get nothing. And the rest of us? Just about $52. About enough each week to buy a can of soda. We need a government that talks straight with Texans and gives us real property tax relief. And real honesty. This grandma wants to shake Austin up.”

Watch more video.

You might be surprised at the number of Texas officeholders — those who were in office at the time and those who came in later — who still remember that commercial. It has become an important bit of the current political folklore, passed from one generation of politicians to the next.

And that cautionary tale is baked into the current conversation about property taxes. Two years ago, Texas lawmakers failed to pass limits on the size of property tax increases that could be enacted without voter approval. The state doesn’t have a property tax — the Texas Constitution prohibits it. So the logic was to allow cities and counties and special districts to impose large increases only if voters said so. The legislation fell apart over where the limit should fall; the House said 6 percent, the Senate went for 4 percent, the governor came in with a late proposal for 2.5 percent.

They’re back with the same idea, more or less, paired with the kind of higher spending on public education that would make it possible for some school districts — maybe — to lower their own property taxes without making budget cuts in schools.

“Maybe” is not a word used in airtight promises.

A perceptible change in school finance — one that taxpayers could actually feel — would cost the state an enormous amount of money. And, as in 2006, the state can’t guarantee that taxpayers would actually receive the intended benefits.

So lawmakers have resorted to words that don’t rhyme with “cuts” when they’re talking property taxes. Maybe they can limit the size of future increases. That would give them something to talk about, and voters might appreciate the work.

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.

But it won’t lower the high property taxes voters are complaining about that. And if they don’t see relief, neither will the politicians.

Read related Tribune coverage

  • Analysis: At the top of Texas government, three-part harmony
  • Analysis: Big things can happen in Texas without court orders, sometimes
  • Analysis: For Dan Patrick, something new — the passenger’s seat

Quality journalism doesn't come free

Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. Do you value our journalism? Show us with your support.

Yes, I'll donate today

Hide all comments

Comment Policy

The Texas Tribune is pleased to provide the opportunity for you to share your observations about this story. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask that you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or wandering away from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of the Tribune, and your real name will be displayed. All comments are shown in Central Time. Thanks for taking time to offer your thoughts.

You must be logged in to leave a comment. | Login | Sign Up

Your Comment

    • Donate
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • © 2019 The Texas Tribune
    Topics
    • Congress
    • Courts
    • Criminal justice
    • Demographics
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health care
    • Higher education
    • Immigration
    • Politics
    • Public education
    • State government
    Info
    • About Us
    • Our Staff
    • Who Funds Us?
    • Strategic Plan
    • Republishing Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Send us a confidential tip
    • Corrections
    • Feeds
    • Newsletters
    • Video
    Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Reddit
    • Join our Facebook Group, This Is Your Texas.