How Texas governor candidates Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke plan to lower property taxes
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It’s an issue brought up on the campaign trail time and time again: What will elected officials do to help property tax bills?
The governor’s race is no exception as Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, campaigns for reelection, and Democrat Beto O’Rourke — the former El Paso Congressman who faced Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 — works to beat him.
Both candidates have discussed property tax relief during their bids.
Here are their plans.
What has Greg Abbott said about property taxes?
Abbott declined an interview with the Star-Telegram through a spokesperson, but he’s made a number of public comments about his ideas to address property taxes. This includes a “Taxpayer bill of rights” that he announced in January. The plan includes:
- An annual reductions of school district property tax rates by allocating state dollars to drive down school district tax rates. Property taxes are one of the major funding sources for Texas public schools.
- Requiring local governments to provide a 3% discount to homeowners who pay their property taxes in full prior to the Jan. 31 deadline. Homeowners could also pay their property taxes in quarterly or semiannual payments without interest or penalty.
- Allow home buyers who buy a house for less than the appraised taxable value to pay taxes on the purchased price.
- A more transparent appraisal process.
- Offering small businesses a property tax exemption of up to $100,000 on equipment.
- Local government debt would have to be approved by two-thirds of a governing body. If that debt has to be approved by voters and isn’t on a November ballot, it would need to get approval of two-thirds of voters.
“The fact is, not enough Texans actually see the property tax relief we have delivered,” Abbott said in a statement. “It’s time to change that. I’m running for Governor to pass a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights that will deliver substantial and lasting property tax cuts.”
What has Beto O’Rourke said about property taxes?
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, O’Rourke called for the lowering of property taxes. It’s something O’Rouke said he hears from voters across the state, regardless of whether they live in a city or rural area.
The biggest way to help homeowners is increase the state’s share of public school funding, he said. O’Rourke said he supports a plan filed by state Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican in the 2019 legislative session, proposing a constitutional amendment to ensure Texas never pays less than 50% of the costs of public school funding. The resolution didn’t make it out of committee.
“I think that makes a lot of sense, and as governor, I want to make sure the state of Texas takes up its fair share of the burden to ensure that we provide property tax relief for local property taxpayers,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke said he’d also work to ensure corporations pay their fair share of property taxes through sales price disclosures. He would also work to enact policies like legalizing marijuana to bring in additional revenue and expand Medicaid to reduce pressure on property taxes.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 11:08 AM.
