Texas Taxpayers and Research Association: 'property tax bills would not be going up unless local jurisdictions wanted to spend more money'

A report by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA) notes that a key driver in increasing property tax rates are increases in the amount of spending desired by local jurisdictions.

TTARA noted that Texans will likely "sticker shock" when receiving their appraisals this year, but that ultimately Texans do have some control over their property tax rates: "The simple truth is no matter what your appraisal, property tax bills would not be going up unless local jurisdictions wanted to spend more money. Regardless of your 2022 appraisal, right now your 2022 tax bill is zero. Your tax bill won’t be set until the jurisdictions in which you reside decide how much money they want to raise and set their tax rates."

The property tax in Houston rose to 45.9 percent from $1.3 billion to $1.9 billion over four years, from 2016 to 2020, according to TTARA. The total population and inflation rose by 7.6 percent, a change of 38.3 percent, according to the report.

Texans should expect a rise in property values by 20 to 50 percent in 2022, which is the main variable in detailing property taxes, according to The Texan.

The Texan reported that Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) proposed a property tax buy down bill during the 86th legislature, “The bill does not cut property taxes. It was never intended to cut property taxes.”  Burrows added that in order for Texas to slash property tax bills they must redo the education code.

State lawmakers had previously passed two, complex milestone laws in 2019, House Bill 3 by Dan Huberty (R-Humble) and Senate that transformed school funds and practices by local municipalities in order to alleviate surging property taxes, according to the news organization. 

“Though few tax bills are actually shrinking, the spiraling growth of property taxes of the past few decades has been abated,” The Texan reported.