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On Texas’ Property Tax Problem: Go Big or Go Home
The Houston Courant ^ | March 10, 2020 | J. Quintero

Posted on 03/21/2020 7:36:10 AM PDT by The Houston Courant

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To: kearnyirish2; waterhill
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.

In DFW the schools have been overcrowded with children of illegals for the last few years and the school districts can’t or won’t seem to figure out why they don’t have enough money. Deport illegal families now...all of them.

21 posted on 03/21/2020 8:13:27 AM PDT by Envisioning (Carry safe, always carry, everyday, everywhere.)
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To: T. P. Pole

They did that to us last year on the farm. Came back with a surprise appraisal on a 10 year old pole barn for darn near 30 grand. I called and told them they could come pick that one up at any time at that price and to let me know how many more I could build them. Took a bit more explaining and proving that it only cost me 5000 bucks to build. Finally got it sorted but it gets tiring having to constantly fight the tax office.


22 posted on 03/21/2020 8:14:08 AM PDT by JohnDeereGreen
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To: Envisioning; waterhill

Here in NJ, districts can require verification the children live within the district - but not that they live here legally.

We are importing future generations, and most aren’t “American” in any sense of the word.


23 posted on 03/21/2020 8:17:16 AM PDT by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: SgtHooper

The rest go to administration. Kids get zip.


24 posted on 03/21/2020 8:17:47 AM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: 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.


OK, I just checked and you're right. I stand corrected. I thought they charged some insane registration fee like California (without calling it a tax), but I see it's fairly normal.

My apologies...
25 posted on 03/21/2020 8:22:28 AM PDT by BikerJoe
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To: BikerJoe
Florida allows for reduced property taxes if the homeowner meets certain requirements. The chief programs in Florida are summarized here.

Primary home (homestead): If you own a house in Florida as your permanent residence, you may be entitled to a property tax exemption, known as a "homestead exemption," of up to $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school district taxes. The additional exemption up to $25,000 applies to the assessed value. The precise amount of the exemption depends on the assessed value of the home. (See Florida Statutes § 196.031.)

Construction for older family member: If you construct living quarters in your home for a parent or grandparent who is at least 62 years old, and that person actually continues living there, you can apply (annually) to either have the added value of your home be made exempt from property tax, or to have 20% knocked off the total, whichever is less. (See Florida Statutes § 197.703.)

Exemption for longtime limited-income seniors: If you are 65 years old or older, and have had a permanent Florida residence for at least 25 years, you may be entitled to a 100% exemption. Your eligibility for this exemption depends on the county or city where you live, and your income must be below a specified limit. This exemption applies only if your home is worth less than $250,000. (See Florida Statutes § 196.075.)

Deployed service member: If you were deployed in U.S. military service during the tax year, you may qualify for an additional homestead exemption. The amount depends on how many days you were deployed. (See Florida Statutes §196.173.)

Surviving spouse of person killed in military service: There’s a homestead exemption if you are the surviving spouse of a military person who died from service-connected causes. (See the "Fallen Heroes" Act, Florida Statutes § 196.081.)

Surviving spouse of first responder. There's also an exemption if you were married to a first responder who was killed in the line of duty. (See Florida Statutes § 196.081.)

Disabled veteran. In addition to the usual homestead exemptions, you may qualify for a tax discount if you’re 65 years old or older, and have a disability that’s wholly or partly due to combat. (See Florida Statutes § 196.082.)

Other disabled people. If you’re blind, need a wheelchair for mobility, or are totally and permanently disabled, you qualify for a $500 exemption from Florida property taxes. (See Florida Statutes § 196.101.)

Contact your local tax appraiser for complete details on these and other Florida exemptions, including any required forms you need to complete and the deadline for filing those forms. For contact information for the tax appraiser’s office in your county, see the website of the Florida Department of Revenue.

26 posted on 03/21/2020 8:30:26 AM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Gays can give blood but I can't)
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To: The Houston Courant

You don’t own what the government can take. Each year the government takes your property with property taxes. Meaning, you’re only renting the property from the government. You don’t own anything.


27 posted on 03/21/2020 8:33:38 AM PDT by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: Envisioning

And send the teacher with em!


28 posted on 03/21/2020 8:52:21 AM PDT by SgtHooper (If you remember the 60's, YOU WEREN'T THERE!)
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To: SgtHooper

How about the multi-million dollar sports arenas high schools are building?


29 posted on 03/21/2020 8:56:01 AM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: Cottonpatch

Spot on!


30 posted on 03/21/2020 8:58:20 AM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: BikerJoe

And here in AZ we have property taxes, vehicle taxes (annual registration), sales taxes......it never ends.


31 posted on 03/21/2020 9:12:12 AM PDT by hsmomx3
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To: The Houston Courant



At least Texas has the biggest and best high school football stadiums...
32 posted on 03/21/2020 9:13:22 AM PDT by 38special (For real, y'all.)
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To: SgtHooper

What is the property tax rats in Texas, or Travis County in particular? The article says it’s high but never mentions a number.


33 posted on 03/21/2020 9:27:21 AM PDT by aquila48 (Do not let them make you care!)
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To: SgtHooper

Agreed. The problem is unaccountable, double digit education spending.

Utah educates kids for 6K each. In Texas, 10K, with some districts at 12K.

And that doesn’t take Robin Hood into account.


34 posted on 03/21/2020 9:29:25 AM PDT by tbw2
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To: The Houston Courant

Kansas property tax continues to rise. We have the highest personal property tax in the country, which by the way is a tax based on the honor system. Since less and less people have honor, more and more people are tagging out of state (mostly Texas, Oklahoma or Missouri tags). We have income tax. We have sales tax on food (which I understand some states don’t have). Kansas is trying its damndest to be one of the highest taxed states in the country. And we have no tourism to bail us out. The only thing that helps is when people drive across country, at least being in the middle, they have to stop for gas, since we’re about 500 miles wide. Love Kansas, but hate the way they tax the crap out of us.


35 posted on 03/21/2020 10:04:33 AM PDT by Old Yeller (Auto-correct has become my worst enema.)
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To: The Houston Courant
I strongly urge people in other parts of the country to look into what are the real effects of Proposition 13 in California.

Most conservatives elsewhere think the only thing that Californians ever did right was to enact Prop 13. However, the end result is that the state has now pretty much taken over control of local governments. Whoever controls the purse strings controls the policy.

There is no reason that people in Travis County have to pay high property taxes. If they don't like what they pay, then they can vote the current crop of council members out and vote in new leadership. But if there is some statewide initiative that decides what each locality can charge, then the city council might as well just twiddle their thumbs until the governor tells them how to run their schools, their police department, their property development, etc.

That is what has happened here in California. In exchange for lower property taxes (if you stay in the same house for your whole life) we now have little to no local control. The state is all.

California Uber Alles.

And guess what: it's so bad in California, even with Prop 13, that we're exporting our liberal pandemic across the country to states like Texas. And once we ex-Californians get a hold of the state legislature then we will make sure that EVERYONE has to pay high property taxes.

Whee!

36 posted on 03/21/2020 10:06:19 AM PDT by who_would_fardels_bear
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To: 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.

Not so sure about the vehicles, because the state tags most common in Kansas, on KS resident vehicles are Texas, Washington, Tennessee and Florida. None of them have state income tax, so at least their property tax is a hell of a lot lower than Kansas. Otherwise, the Kansas scofflaws wouldn't be tagging in those states, by using the addresses of their kids who have grown and moved to those states. I've been following this crap for 35 years.
37 posted on 03/21/2020 10:09:40 AM PDT by Old Yeller (Auto-correct has become my worst enema.)
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To: tbw2
In Colorado, we have state income taxes (about 5%) and much lower property taxes than Texas. I have a friend who just moved to the Plano area. HIs taxes are sky high but he is justifying it b/c he doesn't have to pay for the private schools he had his sons in in Littleton.

One thing about property taxes is they never go away, in fact they just get higher. As you age and retire, your income taxes presumably will go down.

We also have TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) here in Colorado. The Libs despise it and try to get the voters to either throw it out or water it down regularly. Despite the electorate moving decidedly left, they keep voting those measures down.

38 posted on 03/21/2020 10:21:06 AM PDT by luv2ski
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To: The Houston Courant

Political doublespeak. Abbot and Patrick are just as culpable as the Perry administrations (actually, ANY administration) in kicking the can down the road, promising sweeping reform, then kicking the can a little further.

Then when pressed, they deflect by saying that they can’t do anything about the exploding property valuations determined by local Appraisal Districts, which were created specifically to provide cover to politicians.

This isn’t “just happening”....property taxes have doubled at least every 7 years for decades.


39 posted on 03/21/2020 10:25:18 AM PDT by txeagle
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To: CodeToad

“You don’t own what the government can take. Each year the government takes your property with property taxes. Meaning, you’re only renting the property from the government. You don’t own anything.”

Of my biggest problems with government; property taxes is one. I know the taxes must be paid, but I despise the fact that you can never truly own property. Just increase the sales taxes or income taxes, but don’t take people’s homes.


40 posted on 03/21/2020 11:25:36 AM PDT by suthener
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