“I'll have to admit that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Task Force on Appraisal Reform isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's worse. The task force, which held its final meeting on Tuesday in Austin, is expected to issue recommendations in a report late this year, panel Chairman Tom Pauken said. Oh, boy -- can't wait.”
Mr Smith does a good job laying out the impact of this so-called reform. It would shift the tax burden from those whose houses are rising rapidly in value to those whose home values are stagnant. Affluent homeowners with expensive homes would benefit most. Low- and moderate-income Texans would benefit least and may, in fact, end up paying even more in taxes if sales taxes replace property taxes.
Mr Smith presents some numbers that indicate even Gov Perry's premise of a problem is suspect.
"Appraisal district figures released in July showed that 58 percent of single-family houses in Tarrant County had no change in value this year. Values decreased for 5.5 percent of homes. Of the 36.5 percent of homes that increased in value, only about one in 25 rose more than 10 percent."Local government officials are almost uniformly opposed to this interference by state government in local government affairs. When someone from Austin knocks at your door and says he's here to help, watch your wallet. It's being sold as "appraisal reform" and "taxpayer rights". But what Texas will end up buying is a shift of the tax burden to low- and moderate-income Texans.
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