TEXAS — Over the weekend, Texas voters overwhelmingly passed a pair of statewide ballot measures.
Proposition 1 will essentially cut school district property taxes for homeowners 65 and older or those who are disabled. Proposition 2 will raise the state’s homestead exemption, or the dollar amount of a home’s value that’s exempt from taxation by school districts. About 87% of voters supported proposition one, while about 85% supported Proposition 2.
The owner of an average home worth about $300,000 will save around $175 each year.
“It is a victory,” Dale Craymer, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said during an interview on Capital Tonight. “The measure of that victory will be up to others to decide.”
Craymer says the changes will help homeowners in the long run, and that the Legislature will be in a suitable position to do more come 2023. He says state lawmakers have several options for additional relief, including giving more money to schools and again increasing the homestead exemption.
“The good news is, Texas has record budget surplus,” said Craymer. “So, this next Legislature is going to have a lot of cash on hand to put into property tax.”
However, property tax relief does not benefit renters, who have seen skyrocketing rents across the state.
“Renters will only benefit if there’s across the board rate reductions,” he said. “So the only way, unfortunately, for renters to get relief is for property taxes on those landlords to come down and let the market adjust.”