The property tax issue in Plano–and the rest of Texas–was spiraling out of control. Plano’s city property taxes on existing homeowners increased 40% in just the five years from 2014-2019. I’m very proud to say that I have successfully championed the No-New-Revenue tax rate every year I’ve been in office, successfully keeping your city property taxes flat for the last four years in a row.
Starting in 2020, new legislation passed by the Texas Legislature limited the extent to which local taxing authorities (cites, counties, school districts, etc.) can raise your taxes without you being able to vote on it; for cities, that’s 3.5% per year, but I’m pleased to say we didn’t wait for 2020. As one of my first acts in office, I’m proud to have voted to keep taxes flat for the first time in 24 years.
Get educated in the future. Some boast about lowering the tax rate while in reality, your actual tax burden has increased. Do you care about the rate, which is just a ratio? Or do you care about how much of your actual hard-earned money is going to the tax man?
When questioned, cities point the finger at the School Districts, saying, “They take even more in taxes,” and the School Districts points the finger at “Robin Hood,” which takes 1/3 of the School District tax revenue, and everyone points the finger at the County Appraisal District whose only job is to try to figure out the market value of your home (though that process is also rife with issues).
Most advocate taking ever-more of your money–money you could use for your children’s education or your own retirement–but few champion responsible stewardship of your tax dollars to drive maximum value. I do.
Every year, my friend Scott Grigg, candidate for Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector conduct a free Property Tax 101 seminar. Join us this year on April 25th at 6:00 pm at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Plano, or see our recorded webinars: How Property Taxes Work in Texas and How to Protest Your Appraisal.
But I’m not stopping there. I’m championing the elimination of Property Tax statewide in the Texas Legislature. Listen to me on the Information Edge podcast here.
