Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he fully supports using the state budget surplus to reduce property taxes owed by Texans over the long term.
“I strongly support using the state surplus to reduce the amount of property taxes owed,” Abbott told KPRC 2 Investigates on May 11.
Abbott made it clear that if the surplus is used, it will be a long-term solution aimed at eliminating the maintenance and operations portion of property taxes.
“This has to be done in a way so, mathematically, it can be calculated that if we put in a $1 billion or $5 billion or whatever, it will be enduring for every year into the future,” he said.
Abbott, 64, is a Republican running for a third term. He previously served as a state Supreme Court justice and as Texas’ attorney general.
His press secretary, Renae Eze, said Abbott gives tax reform the highest priority.
“Since taking office, Gov. Abbott worked to lower the tax burdens on Texans and has emphasized property tax relief as one of his key legislative items,” Eze told Austin Journal. “Working with the Texas Legislature, he has cut property taxes in every legislative session by a total of more than $18 billion.”
Although Abbott noted that the solution will not be immediate, he did give a nod to 2019 reforms that should temper property tax growth expectations.
“I can tell you for a fact, property tax rates across Texas are going to go down,” he told KPRC.
James Quintero, policy director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation Government for the People initiative, noted that if this plan is implemented, all Texans would benefit.
“We can actually compress that tax rate all the way down to zero and that will provide people with lots of tax relief,” Quintero said.
A report from the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association noted that two legislative bills from 2019 significantly helped alleviate the property tax burdens that Texans have been feeling.
“House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 2 constrained the ability of taxing jurisdictions to raise the amount of property taxes they collect without the approval of their voters," the report states. "HB 3 essentially limits school tax growth to 2.5%, while SB 2 limits most other large taxing units to increases of 3.5% before voters must approve.”
School M&O levies accounted for $30.1 billion in 2021.
Eze said Abbott realizes this will not be an easy task and that the governor is aware it will take time to complete. The TPPF has offered its “Lower Taxes, Better Texas” plan to eliminate a significant portion of Texans’ property taxes by 2033 while reducing the ability of local governments to spend in excess and hike property taxes.
“He strongly supports using the state surplus to reduce the amount of property taxes owed and will work with the Legislature in the next session to do it in an efficient way that will ensure it endures for years to come, rather than as a one-time buy down,” Eze told Austin Journal. “And under his Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Gov. Abbott will continue working to deliver substantial and lasting property tax cuts.”