Latest news with #MorganMeyer
Newsweek
21-05-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Texas Homeowners Could Get Major Tax Cuts
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Texas House of Representatives voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance two bills that could give homeowners significant relief on their property taxes. Why It Matters Texas lawmakers' efforts to lower the property tax burden on homeowners are part of a nationwide movement spearheaded by GOP-led states to significantly curtail or even eliminate property taxes. Four states — including Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Pennsylvania — currently have plans to abolish property taxes entirely. In the Lone Star state, the issue is particularly urgent. Property taxes have skyrocketed since the pandemic, as higher demand driven by out-of-state newcomers led to a surge in home values. While Texas does not levy a personal income tax and has no state property tax, homeowners pay among the highest property taxes in the country to local governments. The money is used for crucial local services including schools, streets, roads, police and firefighting. Homes under construction in Austin, Texas, in April. Homes under construction in Austin, Texas, in To Know Texas lawmakers plan to spend at least $51 billion of state funds to cut property taxes for homeowners in the next two years — a measure that Republican Governor Greg Abbott described in February as an emergency item for the new legislative session. The two bills moved forward by the House this week are Senate Bill 4 and Senate Bill 23, both introduced by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican. SB 4 would change the state's homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, reducing the required threshold for a home's taxable value. According to the bill's supporters, the proposal would save eligible homeowners' nearly $500 in property taxes every year. SB 23 would raise a different homestead exemption for older homeowners or those with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000. This is on top of the exemptions for all Texas homeowners. Bettencourt said the higher exemption would save disabled and senior homeowners more than $950 annually in property taxes. Meanwhile, House Bill 9, introduced by Republican Rep. Morgan Meyer, aims to provide relief to businesses in the state. The bill aims at exempting up to $125,000 of businesses' inventory from being taxed by school districts, cities, counties, and any other local governments. This bill was approved by the Senate last week and changes made by the chamber were signed off by the House on Monday. Newsweek contacted Bettencourt's office for comment on Wednesday morning. What People Are Saying Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-University Park), the House sponsor of SB 4, said on Tuesday: "This is a tightly negotiated relief package. This is the amount of money that we have for property tax relief, so we need to stick to what has been agreed to with the Senate and the governor... Every member of this chamber wants as much property tax relief as we can, but only what we can afford." Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) said on the House floor on Tuesday: "You may call yourself a homeowner in the state of Texas, but the reality is, you are just a renter, and the government is your landlord. And if you don't believe me, try not paying your property tax till the end of the year. You will find out real fast who really owns your home in this state. Apparently, this is the best we are going to get this session." What Happens Next The two bills — SB 4 and SB 23 — must come back before the House on Wednesday for a final vote. The bills then return to the Senate, which must approve any changes introduced by the House before sending them to Gov. Abbott. The current legislative session ends on June 5. Lawmakers have until then to make sure their proposals reach the governor. The bills, however, require amendments to the Texas Constitution to come into effect, which will require the approval of the state's voters.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas homeowners could see lower property tax bills if deal from Republican lawmakers passes
Lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate have brokered a deal on how to lower Texans' property taxes, tax-cut proponents from each chamber said May 5. A group of legislators has agreed to a tax-cut package that would increase tax breaks for homeowners, provide bigger cuts for older and disabled Texans who own their homes, and increase an inventory tax exemption for businesses. The deal still has to be approved by both chambers. Still, the tentative agreement is a marked difference from the blowup between House and Senate lawmakers over tax cuts two years ago. On Monday, the mood was more laudatory with each chamber's chief tax-cut proponents — state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, and state Rep. Morgan Meyer, a University Park Republican — praising each other's proposals and signaling their intent to pass them. In all, Texas lawmakers plan to spend $51 billion on cutting property taxes over the next two years — though a final tally wasn't immediately available Monday. State budget watchers and even some Republican lawmakers worry that Texas lawmakers' commitments to local tax cuts will not be affordable in the long term. Legislators appear on track to boost the state's homestead exemption, which lowers the amount of a home's value that can be taxed to pay for public schools. Senate Bill 4 from state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, would raise the exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. When combined with $3 billion in cuts to school tax rates proposed in the state's upcoming two-year budget, the owner of a home valued at $302,000 in 2024 would have saved more than $500 on their 2024 school taxes, a Tribune calculation shows. Older Texans and Texans with disabilities would get additional breaks under Senate Bill 23, another Bettencourt proposal, which would raise a separate homestead exemption for those homeowners from $10,000 to $60,000. That means they would see a total homestead exemption of $200,000. Each proposal has passed out of the Senate. Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax policy, held a hearing on the bills May 5 and left the bills pending without taking a vote — usually the case when legislative committees first hear proposals. Businesses could see bigger breaks on property taxes they pay on their inventory, often referred to as business personal property. House Bill 9, by state Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, would exempt up to $125,000 of businesses' inventory from taxation by any taxing entity, including school districts, cities and counties. Texas is one of the only states that allows businesses' inventory to be taxed, but it's currently exempt from taxation if it's worth $2,500 or less. House and Senate lawmakers each had sought to provide targeted tax relief for businesses but had disagreed on how to do it. Initially, Meyer proposed to raise the business personal property tax exemption to $250,000. The Senate wanted to raise it to $25,000 while also providing $500 million in franchise tax credits. They wound up somewhere in the middle. The Senate Local Government committee passed the House bill by a 6-0 vote May 5, advancing the bill to the full Senate. Under the proposal, the state would send hundreds of millions of dollars to school districts to offset the cost of raising the exemption. Other taxing entities including cities and counties will have to bear the brunt of the exemption — raising the possibility that they'll have to adopt higher property tax rates than they otherwise would have to offset the cost of the exemption. It's not clear if lawmakers in both chambers have agreed on how much money to send to school districts, who make up the bulk of a property owner's tax bill, so they can lower their tax rates — a method known as 'compression.' Decreasing the tax rate would lower property tax bills for homeowners and business owners alike. A draft of the state's upcoming two-year budget includes $3 billion for compression. Meyer had sought an additional $2.8 billion to put toward compression. His proposal hasn't been scheduled for a vote on the House floor, and neither Meyer or Bettencourt mentioned it May 5. None of the proposals advancing through the Legislature would directly benefit the state's 4.2 million renter households — though tax-cut proponents argue renters benefit from cuts to tax rates.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas House unveils plan to cut property taxes, setting up fight with Senate
DALLAS — Texas House lawmakers unveiled a business-friendly package of property tax cuts Monday, setting up a fight with the Senate over how to bring down the state's high property taxes. The House wants to send billions of dollars to local school districts so they can lower their tax rates, per a proposal filed Monday by state Rep. Morgan Meyer, a Dallas-area Republican who heads the House's chief tax-writing committee. That proposal would spread out tax relief across homeowners and business owners. A second Meyer bill would give business owners bigger tax breaks on personal property they need to run their businesses like furniture, computers, tools and vehicles. Meyer did not immediately return a request for comment. A representative for House Speaker Dustin Burrows did not immediately provide comment. Texas lawmakers have pledged to once more tackle the state's high property taxes. Gov. Greg Abbott has declared property tax cuts an 'emergency item' for the Texas Legislature, which means lawmakers can fast-track legislation to cut taxes. School districts and local governments collect property taxes, not the state. To try to rein in property tax bills, state legislators in recent years have sent billions of dollars to school districts to replace money that districts otherwise would have collected using property taxes — intended to drive down tax rates. [Texas Republicans want more property tax cuts. Here's how they may do it.] Each chamber plans to send at least $3 billion to school districts over the next two years so they can bring down their tax rates, an amount lawmakers already committed to in previous years. The debate between the House and the Senate boils down to how to use an additional $3.5 billion set aside for tax cuts. The proposals largely mirror a similar divide from two years ago when the chambers could not agree on a path to cut taxes. The debate forced lawmakers into overtime, with Abbott calling several special sessions to resolve the debate. Then and now, the fight will likely focus on whether homeowners or businesses will get a bigger tax break. House tax-cut writers want to use that $3.5 billion to further drive down tax rates, a tax-cut method referred to as 'compression,' and targeted tax breaks for businesses. The Senate's tax-cut proposal would give targeted tax breaks to homeowners in the form of a boost to the state's homestead exemption, which lowers the amount of a home's value that can be taxed to pay for public schools. The Senate tax-cut package would boost that exemption from $100,000 of a home's taxable value to $140,000. Texas senators passed that bill last week by a 30-0 vote. Each chamber has signaled an appetite to deliver targeted tax breaks to businesses. The House proposal would exempt up to $250,000 of businesses' personal property from taxation. Senate budget writers have set aside $500 million for business tax cuts, but lawmakers haven't settled on how to deliver those cuts. Neither the House or Senate tax-cut proposal would provide direct relief to the state's 4.2 million households that rent. Unlike other states, Texas doesn't give direct tax breaks to renters, who pay property taxes via their rent. Tax-cut proponents argue that cutting tax rates benefits renters because landlords would otherwise pass on the cost of higher rates to their tenants. Whichever proposal prevails, Texas lawmakers are slated to spend at least $51 billion to maintain existing tax cuts, including to property taxes, and provide new ones over the next two years. Texas lawmakers have tapped large state surpluses to fund tax cuts in recent years. Budget analysts and some state legislators have warned that the state wouldn't be able to maintain those cuts in the event of an economic downturn. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
