Gov. Greg Abbott's 5-Point Plan to Reduce Texas Property Taxes

Texas Economic Strength and Small Business Support

• 🚀 Texas boasts the best economy in America, ranking number one for new jobs, corporate headquarters, and business friendliness.
• 📈 Small businesses, representing over 95% of Texas businesses, are the backbone of the economy, with their numbers doubling since the governor took office.
• 💡 Recent legislative changes have cut red tape and lowered the cost of doing business, including significantly increasing the personal property tax exemption for businesses from $500 to $125,000 annually.

Property Tax Affordability Challenges

• ⚠️ Texans face significant affordability challenges, with housing costs being a leading concern, largely driven by high property taxes.
• 💰 The governor asserts that Texans pay too much in property taxes, and the current system allows these taxes to continuously increase, taking money out of citizens' pockets.

Governor Abbott's Five Solutions for Property Tax Reform

• 🚫 Priority One: Stop Excess Spending by imposing limits on how much local taxing authorities can increase spending, thereby controlling property tax hikes.
• 🗳️ Item Two: Require a Two-Thirds Vote for any property tax increase, ensuring 100% of increases are approved by voters.
• 📉 Empower Voters to Roll Back Rates by allowing citizens to petition for a vote to immediately cut property tax rates if 15% of registered voters sign.
• 🏠 Reform Appraisals: Reduce the frequency of property appraisals to once every five years and cap annual appraisal increases to a maximum of 3%.
• 🏫 Eliminate School District Property Tax: Advocate for reducing school district property taxes to zero, funded by the state, and put a constitutional amendment to voters to achieve this.

Funding and Legislative Support

• 💰 The state can fund the elimination of school district property taxes through budget surpluses, which have exceeded the cost in recent years, without raising taxes.
• 🤝 Governor Abbott is committed to passing these property tax reforms, likening the effort to the fight for education freedom, and is confident in legislative support, noting no legislator opposes reducing property taxes.
• ⚖️ Cities and taxing jurisdictions must prioritize essential services over wants and rein in excessive spending to manage their budgets and fund necessary services like roads and law enforcement.