Abbott's insidious plan to defund Texas schools through property tax reform

[TexasTowelie]

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/

[Hoyt]

1. Can't say I totally get nuances, but I like O'Rourke's plan

“In contrast to Abbott’s dangerous property tax scheme, O’Rourke has put forth a set of ideas to reduce Texans’ property tax burden without cutting funding for public schools or increasing taxes on low-income earners. This would include making sure that the state picks up 50% of the tab for public schools, expanding Medicaid to ease the property tax bill for publicly funded hospitals, as well as legalizing marijuana and taxing its sale.”

[Haggis 4 Breakfast]

2. The GOP has been trying to gut education in this country since Nixon,

basically because knowledge IS power. But I think W summed it up best when he asked "Is our children learning ?"