It’s not uncommon to hear Texas residents here in Texarkana and all across the Lone Star State to complain about high property taxes.
It’s a trade off. Texas has no state income tax so most other levies are higher. That includes property taxes, which are set by school districts, counties and some cities and mostly go to fund public education and essential services.
Well, voters will have the chance to reduce their annual bill a bit in May when two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution appear on the ballot.
Proposition 1 would let the Legislature further reduce the maximum limit on property taxes elderly and disabled property owners must pay to support public schools.
Proposition 2 would increase the state’s Homestead Exemption from $25,000 to $40,000, which would save property owners about $175 a year.
The cost of running schools is only going up. So should these propositions pass — and we have little doubt they will — that means the state will have to pony up more money as its share of education funding. The state plans to use its budget surplus to pay for the first year. But after that?
The money will have to come from somewhere. And it’s a pretty good bet that somewhere means Texas taxpayers.
You know what they say: Pay me now, or pay me later.
Print Headline: EDITORIAL/Cutting or Shifting? Money must come from somewhere to cover proposed Texas property tax relief