On Texas’ Property Tax Problem: Go Big or Go Home

The Houston Courant ^ | March 10, 2020 | J. Quintero

[SgtHooper]

2/3rds of my property taxes go the fricken “schools”! Oh wait, more specifically, the fricken teacher raises and pensions!

[2banana]

2/3 of any city/county budget goes toward the public union salaries, benefits and pensions.

Especially benefits and pensions.

That is where to start.

[BikerJoe]

I keep hearing how great states are that don’t have an income tax, but this is their dirty little secret. And the property tax extends to vehicles too.

[Rurudyne]

Taxes for Democrat supporters.

[pierrem15]

It wasn’t this way 30 years ago— too many damn liberals have moved into Texas like locusts.

[jeffc]

Limit the property tax increase and they just raise the value of your property...

[pierrem15]

They’re even higher in states with income taxes— look at Illinois, New York and New Jersey. The rapacity of local governments is bottomless.

[mewzilla]

And healthcare bennies.

And in my neck of the NYS woods, they ate platinum-plated healthcare bennies.

[mewzilla]

In NYS they do both.

[kearnyirish2]

Don’t forget the portion of teacher pay that is funneled through their paychecks right to the Democratic Party...

It is a brilliant funding scheme that preys on the masses; it puts commissars in every single place with public education, and is funded by those it impoverishes.

Property taxes are the foremost cause of NJ’s decline; people don’t realize companies pay them as well, and when they leave, they take the jobs with them that would pay people enough to pay those taxes.

The solution here is even worse; we traffic Third Worlders here to keep the public schools open, while many of the “clients” are in subsidizing housing or otherwise not contributing.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Switch to a land-value tax, with common-sense rules to prevent tragedy of the commons, like your neighbor building a skyscraper next to you.

A land-value tax also eliminates blight and makes more efficient use of land.

[kearnyirish2]

When Romney talked about the 47% already lined up behind the Dem candidate, a large part of that is the gubmint workers and their dependents/families. That is why Republicans can rarely win in those three states mentioned - and they are immediately set upon by the teachers’ unions if they do win.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Good post. We all have stories of fixed income retirees who cannot afford their property taxes, some closing in on nearly $20,000/year on homes they’ve lived in for 30+ years; nothing real fancy, it’s just the growth around them.

They can lock in the taxation rate for those 65+, but they’ll screw you on the appraised value, which results in a formula that increases your property tax one way or the other.

[Deepeasttx]

But, but but,...it’s for the kids! /s

A certain high schooler went into the NFL in my town. Got a $17m deal with Nike to boot. He promised to build a new football field. Guess what, he never came thru. So, the pressure began. Since the kiddos expected a new field, and could not possible excell in the classroom without one, the public gleefully voted to have their property taxes raised to save the poor waifs. After it was built AND paid for, do you think the taxes went down?

You know the answer.

[caltaxed]

California has property tax, sales tax, income tax and they just increased the tax on gasoline again.

What do we get for our investment?

Our schools underperform and rank dead last in most categories, roads are horrible, homeless and illegal invaders everywhere.

We also have lots of retired state and county workers with 100K plus retirement benefits.

Those government employees also have free, gold plated, lifelong health care that allows them to collect those benefits well beyond the age of those that paid for it.

[Cottonpatch]

It isn’t the teachers who are the problem, it’s the schools with a superintendent, assistant superintendent, assistant assistant superintendent, principal. assistant principal, principal of discipline, principal of sports...and you could goon and on...the problem is every little town has an independent school district with all these high paid jobs.

We need one superintendent per county or two counties and principals who also teach. The teachers are not making the money...It’s the mandated counselors, special needs, sports...teachers are the least of our problems.

[T. P. Pole]

Limit the property tax increase and they just raise the value of your property

I've long thought that the city should be required to immediately purchase with cash on demand any home at the city-appraised value. There is no way I could sell my house at the city appraised value, but the cost to challenge is more than the difference (which they count on), so I don't bother.

[JohnDeereGreen]

I wouldn't say that it can't be done but I am afraid it might be too little too late. The largest problem my area faces is that folks from Travis and Williamson co. came flooding to our area an hour north looking for cheap property to escape this. The developers caught on and over the past two years have built dozens of ranch style subdivisions in our area on pristine farm and ranch land. These property's were purchased as larger tracts of 700 to 800 acres for anywhere from 2000 to 4000 dollars an acre. They then created illegal subdivisions(they didn't build the paved infrastructure or storm sewers) and sold 10 acre lots at 15k an acre. We finally got that stopped by making the county enforce the laws on the books but the price is already going to be paid. Our property values on non ag are going to skyrocket. That's just base values, who knows what will happen with the school district taxes.

[grobdriver]

And the property tax extends to vehicles too.

Not in Texas it doesn't.

There is no property tax here on vehicles, boats, aircraft... only annual registration fees.