Texas voters to decide property tax measures Saturday

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As Texas’ red-hot housing market pushes dwelling costs sky excessive, Texas voters will head to the polls Saturday to vote on a pair of propositions meant to decelerate the expansion of their property tax payments.

One measure — dubbed Proposition 1 — would minimize college district property taxes for owners who’re disabled or 65 years and older.

The different measure, Proposition 2, would increase the state’s homestead exemption — the portion of a house’s worth that may’t be taxed — from $25,000 to $40,000 for college district property taxes.

For the proprietor of a median Texas dwelling, price about $300,000, that interprets to about $176 in financial savings on their annual property tax invoice, in accordance to Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, the proposal’s writer.

If handed, the measures would cut back property tax income for Texas colleges by about $2.3 billion via 2026. The state would then exchange the misplaced income for colleges. Some of these funds would come out of state surplus {dollars} to cowl the primary yr the minimize is in impact, Bettencourt stated. But it’s not clear how the state would pay for the tax minimize past that.

Texas owners pay a few of the highest property taxes within the nation, a byproduct of how closely the state depends on property taxes to pay for public colleges and the state’s lack of an revenue tax. Cutting property taxes, in the meantime, has lengthy been a pet difficulty for Texas Republicans. Proposition 2, particularly, took place because of a last-minute sprint by Republicans within the state Legislature to put forth some type of property tax minimize within the waning days of the final session in 2021.

Polls shut at 7 p.m. Saturday. Check again right here for outcomes.