Though the Dallas City Council is set to potentially lower property taxes, some city residents are not pleased with the possible downsides.
The Dallas Central Appraisal District will potentially raise assessed values for homes, likely canceling any benefit from a lower tax rate.
The city council is meeting Wednesday to vote on new property tax rates along with the budget. The council was supposed to vote on both last week but rescheduled it because of a procedural rule it broke by not advertising the meeting in a timely manner, according to Kera News.
The proposed tax rate is 74.58 cents per $100 of a home’s appraised value. The current rate is 77.533.
East Dallas resident Carlos Hernandez told The Dallas Express on Tuesday that he was not sure if lowering property tax rates would do much to help property owners.
“My thoughts are property taxes are already up there anyway,” Hernandez said. “I don’t think it’s going to change unless it’s changed by the state legislature.”
He said he support raising sales taxes if it provided homeowners with relief.
“We’re the burden bearers,” he said, referring to middle-class homeowners.
The appraiser gives the home an assessed value, but because of rising housing costs, the appraised value will likely outstrip the modest rate reduction. The massive influx of new residents in the region is also contributing to the increase.
Shirley Rutledge, another Dallas resident, also told The Dallas Express that she is in favor of lower taxes, but not a higher assessed value of her home.
She called it a “sleight of hand” move by the Dallas City Council.
“What drew us to Texas are low taxes, no state income tax,” Rutledge said, who moved from Illinois to Dallas with her husband and son Jack. “Dallas personal property tax is already high … as are home prices here — and now both are going up.”
Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis said at a budget briefing last week that the lower property tax rate may actually feel like a tax increase, partly because of the continued growth of the city.
“If you are a property owner, you are going to feel that tax increase,” Willis said.
Out of the $4.5 billion proposed budget, the collected property taxes will go toward the $1.7 billion general fund that pays for public services such as transportation.
The next question is how will city and county utilize and deplot the additional revenues to improve services and develop better programs such as one that reduce crime?