Abbott's insidious plan to defund Texas schools through property tax reform [View all]

Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the country, and they’re undergoing a steep inflation as home values across the state continue to increase. Both major political parties have plans to address this financial burden, but Republicans are now weaponizing growing frustration with higher property taxes to enact potentially permanent budget cuts to the public school system.

The fundamental reason that property taxes are so high is that Texas does not have a state income tax. Instead, we pay for government services through two main sources of revenue: sales tax and property tax.

Though a tailored state income tax could lower most Texans’ overall tax burden by decreasing the amount low-income homeowners pay in property taxes while generating additional revenue by taxing the income of the wealthiest Texans, such an income tax as Democrats might desire will not happen anytime soon due to the potential backlash from moneyed constituents.

That being said, homeowners of all incomes dislike property taxes, and they regularly vote to lower them. As recently as May 7, Texas voters overwhelmingly passed a pair of statewide ballot measures aimed at decreasing property taxes. While measures like alleviating tax pressure for the old and disabled sound reasonable, it’s likely that at least some local governments will now have to cut their property tax rates and thereby lower the municipal funding available for public schools.

Read more: https://texassignal.com/abbotts-insidious-plan-to-defund-texas-schools-through-property-tax-reform/