(RightWing.org) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is trying to ease the tax burden on his state’s residents. A new relief package has just come into force, saving Texans thousands in property taxes. However, many are saying the cuts don’t go far enough.
On January 1, Texans started to benefit from the Property Tax Relief Act, which they voted through on a November 7 ballot. This act cuts the property value taxed by the state in several ways. The main one is that it raises the homesteader exemption, increasing the tax-free portion of a home’s value from $40,000 to $100,000. It also caps the appraised values of both residential and commercial properties and cuts 10.7 cents per $100 of property value from the tax collected for schools. Abbott is calling this the “Largest property tax cut in Texas history” — but some residents are asking him to go further.
Abbott’s message on X (formerly Twitter) attracted a storm of angry replies. Many called for him to abolish property taxes altogether, with some pointing out that people are being taxed on “unrealized gains” — money they would only get if they sold their properties. One said that, without abolition, Texans are “simply renting our property from the government.” Others complained that property valuations rose sharply just before the homestead exemption was increased, so people aren’t actually paying any less. One particularly angry citizen described what Abbott called “$18 BILLION in property tax cut relief” as just stealing $18 billion less than he would have.
As well as property tax itself, some residents complained about other costs. Many said homeowner’s insurance had doubled, while others mentioned higher mortgage payments. While interest rates that affect mortgages are set by the Federal Reserve, and there’s nothing Abbott can do about them — many Texans seem to feel he needs to do more with the things he can control.
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