AUSTIN – Earlier today, Governor Greg Abbott delivered his 2015 State of the State address to a joint session of the Texas House and Senate. Included in the Governor’s remarks were several noteworthy recommendations on easing the state’s business and property tax burden.
“Governor Greg Abbott is right to call for easing the tax burden on homeowners and businesses,” said Talmadge Heflin, Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Texas is America’s jobs engine and maintaining that edge means enacting broad-based reforms. That’s why the Governor’s call for a $2 billion reduction in the business tax and a $2.2 billion reduction in local property taxes is so encouraging.”
“Taxpayers delight. Governor Abbott’s remarks today indicate that he not only recognizes the need for immediate property tax relief but that long-term reform is also a priority,” said James Quintero, Director of the Center for Local Governance. “The property tax status quo is simply not workable. Texans already suffer under the 15th worst property tax system in the nation and the burden is only growing by the day. Consider that from 1992 to 2010, property taxes outstripped population growth by a factor of almost 5-to-1. It’s vital that long-term reforms, like revenue limits and even a tax swap, are given consideration.”
The Honorable Talmadge Heflin, Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. In the 78th Session, Heflin served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and navigated a $10 billion state budget shortfall through targeted spending cuts that allowed Texans to avoid a tax increase.
James Quintero is Director of the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.