Major Republican leaders in Austin have struck a deal on how to spend part of their budget surplus. They aim to pay down property and business taxes for millions of Texans.
Monday night, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the framework of a deal online, posting pictures with Senate and House finance leaders.
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WATCH HERE“We have reached an agreement with the Senate as it relates to tax relief,” said Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and the author of the business cut package. Monday, he passed the Senate’s property tax relief package out of his committee.
“All of us working together to provide meaningful property tax relief. I’m glad we got this job done,” said Meyer.
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SIGN UP The same day, the Senate Local Government Committee approved Meyer’s business tax cuts.
“The homestead exemption bills are moving, too, and that means we have home and business tax relief on the way. And that’s a happy day,” said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, the Senate’s main tax bill writer.
This is much different from two years ago, when a fight between the chambers brought on several costly special sessions. The main dispute was whether to spend billions raising the homestead exemption or to “compress” tax rates across the board.
Lone Star Politics
Covering politics throughout the state of Texas.
This year, there’s a new speaker of the Texas House, Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, who followed Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, after he chose not to seek another term as speaker following intense Republican pushback.
Also, this year, it appears the “compression” idea to buy down taxes across the board is not part of the deal struck by state leaders.
Lawmakers plan to raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 a year, saving someone roughly $500 if they own a $300,000 home, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune. They aim to raise the exemption to $200,000 for seniors or those with a disability.
The association representing Texas Realtors was one of the main speakers in support on Monday during the committee hearing.
“We really want to protect that senior lifestyle and overall affordability, and protect the vulnerable population on fixed income. We believe in homeownership for life, so thank you for this bold move,” said Christy Gessler, from Texas REALTORS.
Also as part of the agreement is a proposal to raise the business inventory tax exemption from $2,500 to $125,000, saving small businesses a significant amount.
Both proposals appear to have bipartisan support. However, a potential issue looms: both use state money to buy down taxes for Texans. The state budget could face problems if an economic downturn hits the Lone Star State, potentially forcing lawmakers to backtrack on the cuts or reduce services.
The Republican-led Legislature largely believes that risk is worth taking to deliver property and business tax relief to Texans this year.
