Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently presented their cases for what each believes is the best way to bring property tax relief to Texans at separate events held by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF).
Abbott spoke before the TPPF on Friday, where he explained that his long-term vision is that bills passed by the House will lead to the eventual end of property taxes in the state.
“What we want to achieve in the state of Texas is to eliminate your property taxes. Make them go away,” he said.
Abbott last week tweeted his support for the version of property tax relief favored by the House, included in its HB 1 budget plan, touting what he called “substantial property tax cuts.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, the governor said, “The Texas House is the only chamber that passed a property tax cut bill that is germane to the special session that I called to provide Texans with property tax relief. It provides more cuts to property tax rates than any other proposal at this time. It is supported by the state’s most respected tax think tank and more than 30 homeowner, consumer, and business groups across the state. I look forward to signing it when it reaches my desk.”
Patrick reposted Abbott’s tweet, replying that the plan Abbott supports would result in homeowners getting 50% less tax relief than the Senate plan. He further reminded the governor and House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), with whom Patrick has had a contentious relationship, that “for any bill to pass, it must go through both the House AND the Senate.”
The Senate bill would boost tax relief for homeowners by raising the homestead exemption. Phelan and the House have, to this point, rejected the homestead exemption, preferring to cap appraisal values and broaden tax relief for commercial properties. Both plans include an element of compression, or the state footing some of the tax burden for the taxpayer.
Earlier in the week, Patrick also addressed a TPPF crowd to make a case for the property tax relief that he and the state Senate support. Using Phelan’s family investment firm as an example, Patrick argued that appraisal caps would generate massive savings for large landowners who have held many properties for years while being of limited benefit to homeowners.
The Dallas Express spoke with James Quintero, the policy director at TPPF’s Government for the People initiative, who spoke to where the process of reconciling these different approaches currently stands.
“The ball is in the Senate’s court to pass the House bill as is or going a different direction and possibly requiring a second special session,” Quintero said. Ultimately though, Quintero expressed optimism that whatever plan or compromise emerged, “Texans will realize massive property tax relief.”