Gov. has signed an for Texas property owners, sending the proposals to voters for their approval later this year.
The package puts $12.6 billion of the state鈥檚 toward making cuts to school taxes for all property owners, dropping property taxes an average of more than 40% for some 5.7 million Texas homeowners and offering brand-new tax savings for smaller businesses and other commercial and nonhomesteaded properties.
On Saturday, Abbott added his signature to , the property tax cuts bill, and , a franchise tax relief bill, which were passed by Texas lawmakers two weeks ago after months of negotiations between the state鈥檚 top Republicans.
A third measure, , will go before voters in a constitutional election in November. Voters would need to approve the package for the cuts to take effect this year.
At a time when the state has some of the nation鈥檚 highest property taxes and lawmakers face massive political pressure to ease the financial suffering of their constituents, the initiative was a cornerstone of Abbott鈥檚 2022 reelection campaign and that of most state lawmakers.
The package鈥檚 marquee item is a $5.3 billion expansion of the state鈥檚 homestead exemption, the amount of a home鈥檚 value that can鈥檛 be taxed to pay for public schools, from $40,000 to $100,000. The new exemption combined with school tax cuts would save homesteaders 鈥� Texans who live in a residence they own 鈥� an average of $1,300 a year in property taxes, said state Sen. , R-Houston, who sponsored the package of legislation in the Senate.
It also offers additional cuts for seniors and property owners with disabilities, averaging about $170 more in savings per year, Bettencourt said.
The most novel part of the plan, an idea introduced publicly for the first time on Monday, is a first-ever temporary 20% cap on appraisal increases for properties valued at $5 million or lower that aren鈥檛 considered homesteads. Those would include second homes, vacation properties, rental houses or commercial retail or business properties.
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 10.7 cents per $100 valuation for all homeowners and business properties.
Those billions are being sent to school districts so they can cut their taxes for all property owners and shift a portion of their maintenance and operations costs to the state. But the package would give no new funding to schools, a sticking point with critics who note that, compared to other states鈥� spending, Texas is ranked near the bottom in per-student funding for education.
that have passed both chambers.
House Democrats unsuccessfully tried to push their own versions of tax relief, including a sponsored by Dallas state Rep. that would鈥檝e given tenants a cash refund equaling up to 10% of the rent they paid the previous year. It also would have made the homestead exemption $200,000, doubling the exemption in the current bill, and would have included a teacher pay raise and added more school funding.
This article originally appeared in at .