Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed a “taxpayer empowerment plan” designed to lower property taxes on homeowners.
Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term as governor, used his Substack page to present five key points for his plan:
- Property tax increases must be voted on and approved by two-thirds of voters
- Property appraisals should be conducted every five years instead of every year
- Voters should be given the opportunity to roll back tax increases
- The appraisal cap should be slashed from 10% per year to 3%
- Voters should have the right to consider abolishing school district property taxes, which constitute two-thirds of the average Texan’s property tax bill
“Texas homeowners and renters are being squeezed as their local jurisdictions tout bloated budgets,” wrote Abbott on his Substack page. “This must end. Your community must manage their money, balance their checkbooks, and only spend your hard-earned tax dollars on the essentials.”
Abbott’s proposal follows last week’s announcement by Attorney General Ken Paxton that his office is investigating over 1,000 cities across Texas “to ensure they are complying with state law that requires financial transparency and to prevent unlawful tax increases on Texans.” Some of the included in the investigation are Amarillo, Corpus Christie, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Galveston, Houston, Lubbock and San Antonio.
“I will not allow any Texas city to unlawfully increase taxes. That is why my office is reviewing the actions of over 1,000 cities to ensure that they are complying with transparency requirements and not attempting to illegally raise property taxes,” said Paxton, who is currently seeking the Republican party nomination to become US Senator. “I am demanding that cities prioritize transparency and work to minimize the tax burden of every citizen across the state. While many cities have complied with these requirements, I will continue to fight to ensure that every municipality across our state is following the law.”
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