Texas
Gov. Rick Perry has outlined a plan to bring
fundamental change to our property tax system
and relief to Texas taxpayers. He has proposed
a four-part plan to limit property appraisals
to 3% a year; limit the revenue local entities
can raise from property taxes (to growth
in population and inflation); require sales
price disclosure; and establish appraisal
district boards accountable to taxpayers.
Low
taxes can only be preserved when spending
is constrained.
Yet
the squealing from the cities and other
taxing authorities impacted has been deafening.
Taxpayers should be asking why. The governor's
plan allows for growth commensurate with
population and inflation, and provides the
ability to override that spending cap by
a vote of the taxpayers.
Why
should those who spend our money use our
tax dollars to fight for the right to continue
to take more of our tax dollars?
The
Texas plan includes limits on property appraisals
but the meat of the plan proposed by Gov.
Perry is in the limits placed on local revenue
growth. In other words, “It's the spending,
stupid!” Local spending can grow at
the rate of population increases and inflation.
Any growth above that would require voter
approval. And that makes sense to the taxpayer
who's footing the bill.
A
ll the local taxing entity has to
do to keep its excess revenue is ask for
it, and convince voters that the government's
need for it is greater than our own.
Some
who follow fiscal policies are asking what
happened in California with Proposition
13. Did Proposition 13 really starve state
and local services? Hardly. In real dollars,
California 's budget climbed from $55 billion
in 1980 to $97 billion in 1992 -- a whopping
75 percent increase above inflation!
That
is largely because though property taxes
were capped, efforts to constrain spending
were not a part of Proposition 13. The Gann
Amendment was passed one year following
Proposition 13 but was gutted when the education
union successfully lobbied for more education
spending.
Many
believe that if a spending limit had remained
in place, California would not have faced
their fiscal crisis. But in 1989,
Assembly Speaker Willie Brown corrupted
Prop 13 with an initiative to increase gas
taxes and in 1990 California loosened the
so-called Gann Limit, which limited spending
to population and personal income growth.
Since then, California 's budget woes made
headlines.
Texas
is not headed down the path California blazed…unless
we fail to pass revenue caps.
Texans
remember well when we were given a $1 billion
property tax cut under then-Gov Bush and
– though well intentioned, it left taxpayers
empty handed. Local taxing entities devoured
our tax cut.
Taxpayers
deserve tax relief we can bank on. Gov.
Perry had provided us with a real property
tax cut we can take to the bank!
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