PROPERTY TAXES & POLITICS!

THEY BOTH AFFECT YOUR FUTURE!

By Ron C. West - Texas Candidate for State Representative - District 91

If You Own Property, Your Taxes Are Going Up.

The Texas Constitution prohibits a statewide property tax but allows property taxation as the primary vehicle for all local taxing bodies. Counties, Hospital Districts, Cities and School Districts use Property Taxes as their primary funding vehicle.

Bureaucratic interpretation of our Constitution has resulted in guidelines for local taxing bodies that effectively insure continuing increases in property taxes - as long as the taxpayers are not paying attention. Over the past five years, property taxes have grown - on average - over 9% PER YEAR! There is no sign the increases will slow down. This means that the property taxes you pay on your home or other property will DOUBLE over the next 10 years - and possibly sooner! All of this can be accomplished by your local taxing authority without you ever getting to vote on it.

Even "Roll Back" is an 8% Increase in Your Rates!

If the taxing authorities go over the "roll back" rate, by petition the voters can seek to roll back taxes only to a rate that is 8% higher than the prior year.

Misconceptions:

You Must Cut Services To Cut Property Taxes!

This is just not true. Property taxes could be greatly reduced by simply limiting the growth of government and all their new services!

My tax rate has not changed for years. Why are you claiming my taxes are going up?

Every few years, your local tax appraisal district revalues your property. By Texas Law this valuation increase is limited to 10% per year. To avoid a tax revolt, the appraisal districts reappraise only 20 to 25% of the properties in any taxing authority each year. The law allows them to raise your valuation 10% for every year since they last changed your property value. If your local taxing authority is "holding the rate", your taxes are effectively being raised by about 10% per year. (This is obscured a little since you might go up to five years between massive tax increases.) It is not uncommon to see year to year tax increases of 50% or more!

Talk About Increasing Property Taxes is Negative Campaigning!

Most people want to support their government and do so in a variety of ways. Paying taxes is just one of them. Most people also want to be treated fairly and honestly by their governing authorities. The only people who do not want you to know about your property taxes appear to be those who set the rates and spend your money. Property taxes need to be controlled and monitored just like all functions of government. That is why we have elected officials to represent our interests. If we want them to eventually tax us our of our home, then we can continue to ignore the big increases they are taking with property taxes. Government is growing more rapidly than any other sector of our economy.

Tax Appraisal Authorities are to Blame for Tax Increases!

This is just not true. The appraisal districts were set up by legislation to shield your local elected officials. If your local officials adopted the effective rate which yielded the same tax dollars as the prior year, there would be no tax increase due to appraisals at all.

What Can Be Done to Reduce Property Taxes?

As property values increase, the tax rate required to maintain a level flow of funds to government is automatically decreased. This is called the "effective tax rate". If government were required to slow the growth of staff, programs and services, the actual tax rate you pay could be decreased virtually every year. Only taxing entities with slow growth or no valuation increases would have to "hold the rate".

Local politicians, shielded from your wrath by the local Tax Appraisal Districts, want you to think they are doing a good job if they "hold the rate". Only, if or when we let them know that we do understand that "holding the rate" is the same thing as "RAISING TAXES" will they begin to respond to us.

Data on the proposed budgets for each taxing entity is usually published during July and August of each year. Your attendance and voice at the required hearings for such increases might help you get lower taxes in the future. Very few people attend. Your lack of attendance insures ever-higher property taxes.