Texas - Property tax bills may disappoint

Victoria Advocate ^ | 10/26/06

[Cat loving Texan]

Property tax bills may disappoint

October 26, 2006 - Posted at 2:12 a.m.

Property tax bills have gone out in the mail this month and anyone expecting to pay less because of the tax relief legislation passed by the Texas Legislature this year might be disappointed.

The tax rates remain unchanged for the city of Victoria, county of Victoria and Victoria College. The Victoria Independent School District dropped its rate 12.5 cents for each $100 of property value.

But property values set by the Victoria County Appraisal District and used to figure property taxes went up an average of about 5 percent for residential property.

That means bigger property tax bills for residents, with increases ranging from about $4 a year for a $40,000 house to about $79 a year for a $1 million house. That doesn't take into account any exemptions and it doesn't include other taxing entities, such as utility or drainage districts.

There is a new countywide taxing entity this year called the Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District. It assesses a 1-cent tax rate, which adds about $10 to the tax bill for of a $100,000 house.

2005 2006

House value $40,000 $42,000

Total tax bill $1,113 $1,117

School tax bill $621 $601

City tax bill $276 $290

County tax bill $159 $167

College tax bill $57 $59

2005 2006

House value $80,000 $84,000

Total tax bill $2,227 $2,234

School tax bill $1,243 $1,199

City tax bill $552 $581

County tax bill $319 $335

College tax bill $113 $119

2005 2006

House value $1 million $1.05 million

Total tax bill $27,837 $27,916

School tax bill $15,535 $14,999

City tax bill $6,900 $7,245

County tax bill $3,986 $4,185

College tax bill $1,416 $1,487

[Howard Jarvis Admirer]

Attn: Tax Slaves in Taxus: Per Hendrix, a $200,000 house in Houston pays $7,735.00 per year. In California, under Proposition 13, a $200,000 house has a 1% tax cap so $200,000 x .01 is $2,000 per year less $70 homeowner exemption or $1,930.00 per year. California tax savings over Taxus: about $5,805.00 in savings per homeowner.

See www.hjta.org for permanent tax solutions for overtaxed homeowners.

Hint, it doesn't involve trusting politicians or their promises.

[UNGN]

Attn: Tax Slaves in Taxus: Per Hendrix, a $200,000 house in Houston pays $7,735.00 per year. In California, under Proposition 13, a $200,000 house has a 1% tax cap so $200,000 x .01 is $2,000 per year less $70 homeowner exemption or $1,930.00 per year. California tax savings over Taxus: about $5,805.00 in savings per homeowner.

See www.hjta.org for permanent tax solutions for overtaxed homeowners.

Hint, it doesn't involve trusting politicians or their promises.

I'm not saying we are undertaxed, but a $200,000 house in Texas is twice the size of $200,000 house in California.

Does proposition 13 mean I have to go back in time to buy a house?

I think it does.

If that is the case, people living in 20 year old houses in Texas aren't paying crap for taxes. It's the new 4000 square foot ones that hurt.

I'll take Texas' financial situation over Californian's any day of the week.

[RockinRight]

I'm not saying we are undertaxed, but a $200,000 house in Texas is twice the size of $200,000 house in California.

Try four times.

[Howard Jarvis Admirer]

The question is not whether the State of Taxus has a better financial condition than the State of California - the question is whether your financial condition as a Taxus taxpayer/homeowner is better than a California homeowner under Proposition 13. Is maintaining Taxus's financial condition worth being taxed to death? If your answer is yes, Tax and Spend politicians everywhere salute you - welcome to foreclosure and bankruptcy court.

I personally would prefer the government go bankrupt rather than me - after all, if the bureaucrats and politicians squander the money in California, why shouldn't they pay the price instead of the taxpayers?

Remember, in California, Homeowners have their property taxes capped at 1% of the purchase price, with no reassessments, and with the right to vote on any property tax increases. You should get on your knees and beg your local Taxus politicians for just one of those rights. Californians have all three - maybe that is why California houses are worth more than houses in Taxus. :)