Appraisal Reform draft report leaked
by David Benzion · 01/04/2007 6:35 amWe haven’t had a chance yet to look the whole thing over, but the Austin American-Statesman appears to have acquired a draft report of Gov. Perry’s appraisal reform commission, set to be officially released next week.
Take a look at it yourself (30 pp, pdf) and tell us what you think.
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Gov. Goodhair’s and his minions give us lip service - no real relief. “Well, we tried!”
Barbara Streisand!
yup write new law so some taxpayers dont understand it and we get to screw them.
seniors texas dont want you here. dont move here it stinks for seniors.
oh by the way will get you folks another way. toll for you coming sooooooon!!!!!
http://www.texastollparty.com/action_tellYourReps_campo.php
Wait a minute, I thought that the tax creep was only a Harris County problem? What am I missing? The last chart shows a 40%+ tax increase in several different Counties. Oh yeah, Dan was only out to boost his ratings.
BTW; They did mention a %5 Cap, will this report every see the light of day?
now dave they made you fell good with that 5% cap dint they. it should be 3%. these jerks will never learn untill the high taxes cause a wholesale forclosure problem - then they will wonder why that happened and tax revenue went down.
they will plead ignorence and say well i didnt know a not having a cap or a cap at x% would cause this!
4 dowjones12475, Ding, Ding, Ding,…We have a winner!
How right you are and I was thinking that very same thing as I read it, they’ll recommend a 5% cap and it will be knocked around at Austin and we’ll get 6% or 7% if anything at all, then the Breck Girl will get on TV, and tell what a great damn job they did! AAARRRGGGGG!!
My wife has worked in the insurance industry in three different states, and Texas is by far the worse place she’s been. Want to know why, Texas a an Insurance Commission, AKA, Insurance Company Lobbyist, they don’t need an increase, they ask for 10% and the Commission grants them 6% and damn near breaks their arms patting themselves on the back! Beam me up Scotty!!!
Once again, the one tRick Perry exposes himself. This clown Pauken had no intention of tackling property tax reform from the start. Anytime a political operative publicly expresses contempt and disdain for the voters/taxpayers - grab hold of your wallet. This guy openly states that the Task Force on Appraisal Reform “will focus on slowing the growth of government spending”. Words obviously don’t mean anything to this guy. To hell with the assigned mission. If the Republican Party of Texas had any sack at all they would very publicly throw the one tRick Perry out. He has completely ignored the State Platfrom and shown himself to be a Democrat time and time again. Regarding property taxes, I paid $10,000 on my home this year. In Pauken and one tRick Perry’s world, seven years from now I will be paying $20,000/year. Fifteen years from now, at the retirement age of 65, I will be paying $40,000. Guess what, if these lying, cheating politicians can’t or won’t do anything about it, I will. I have begun making plans to relocate in 5 years and property taxes are the driving force. In the last elecion, I had hoped others in the Republcican Party would wake up and join me in voting/electing Kinky Friedman. What a fog I was in. As a native Houstonian/Texan, I am angry and disillusioned about the future of Texas. As of today, I am a former member of the Republican Party.
One tRick Perry has higher political aspirations? The good People of Texas better wake up and not allow this guy an office in this State ever again, at least under the Republican banner. He wants to be a Senator from Texas, let him run as a Democrat. The sad truth is that by the time he does run for higher office, he probably could get elected as a Democrat.
Well, it took a few minutes but I read every word of the draft. And I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised. After attending the hearing at St. Thomas in mid-November, I was skeptical. I especially like these lines in the executive review:
I realize that some will never be happy with anything Gov. Perry or the Legislature does but on the whole, my opinion is that this draft is well put together and basically fair. Implementation of these recommendations may or may not happen but that is not the committees responsibility.
DAMN, Lawrence, tell us what you really think, don’t go beating around the bush. Disheartning isn’t it, I’ve said this before and I know I’ll say it again, but the Republican Party has become the old Democratic Party, and the Democrat Party has become the Communist Party. I too voted the the Village Idiot (Kinky) because he could NOT!! be any worse than The Breck Girl!
FYI, Sad to say it but he will be a Senator soon because NOBODY votes in the primaries!!! AAARRRRGGGGG!!
#8 I made a reference error, the unfunded mandate quote is not in the executive review but on is in section IV.
I have a simple solution: Quit wasting and/or spending so much of our tax dollars. Or how about this one: Cut all social services to illegal aliens. Or how about this one: Drop property taxes and increase sales tax so that everybody pays according to their spending habits. There are a lot of ways IF you want to do something about it!!!!!!
Put together a spending commission, rotating amongst business people in the state of various industries (no one on the committee for more than one term), with the mandate of first, reducing the current budget and second, maintaining future budgets to items constitutionally bound and economically feasible. I haven’t had time to review the document. Is something like this in there?
#8. I read the thing too. What is a reduction in the appraisal cap when its tied to a 1/2 cent sales tax increase - an admitted dolllar for dollar swap? Not only that, it requires a constitutional amendment. All the while, money is piling up in Austin so fast that no one, not even the celebrated Comptroller, can figure out how big the surplus is. The rest of the thing is meaningless to the taxpayer as far as I’m concerned. Do you realize what percentage of homeowners actually file to protest their property taxes? And of those that file, what percentage actully show up? According to the last HCAD official I talked to, less than 20% of homeowners even file to protest and and large percentage of those never show up. All that BS about sales disclosure and valuation procedure is meaningless to over 80% of the homeowners and the taxing authorities know it. Where in that document is proposed REAL taxpayer relief? I’ll believe it when I see it reflected as a reducion on my property tax bills without any BOGUS sales tax increase to finance it.
I’m on a roll here and I guess I’ll finish up by saying that the Appraisal Cap only applies to homesteaded properties. I didn’t see anything about extending it to all properties. So I guess that all you folks with residential rental properties and/or commercial properties - this faux reform still does not apply. Large annual double digit valuation increases still loom on the horizon for you folks.
#13
As best as I understand it, the committee wasn’t charge with reducing state spending. They were, I thought, charged with reviewing the current appraisal system and recommending changes to it. Hence the name, Task Force on Appraisal Reform. Again, that is my understanding of their job.
It is the Legislature’s job to reduce spending. And if homeowners don’t bother to take the time to appeal and show up, well, that is their responsibility. I protest every year, I show up every year and I “win” (not really but not sure what other word to use) every year. And like you, my taxes are more than some peoples income. Thus it is important to me. I suppose if my taxes were $1,000 a year, I might be a no-show but I doubt it. I would like to see the actual stats on appeals - the place is packed every year that I go. Even the newer, larger building was full to the brim this year.
I still like my idea of the Empty Wallet Campaign. Everybody send their representatives (local, state, federal - take your pick(s)), an empty wallet as protest against our taxes. Similar to the “Send a Brick” campaign promoting a wall on the border.
Or a picture of an empty wallet, if postage is an issue.
I do like the idea of stopping “sales chasing”. It is frustrating that the CAD uses the sale of a home that may have been the market for 2-3 years at a price that anyone in their right mind knows is too high. Then some idiot (usually from a state that has $500/sq ft housing comes here and thinks it is a bargain and buys it. The fact that 1 person out of 100-200 thinks it is worth that doesn’t make it so (except in the mind of the CAD).
I also think that we can do with a 3% cap. If this is not enough money, then the elected officials can come out from hiding behind the skirts of the CAD and ask for a tax rate increase and justify why they need it.
Ship ALL illegals back home NOW! Stop paying for any services for them. Look how much money you will save.
Get rid of the ag exemption. It is unfair to property owners to have rich people buy up 100s of acres of land, throw a few cows on it and eliminate 99% of the tax on the place while the rest of the citizens pick up the tab for them. Even if they were valid full-time farmers and ranchers, there should be no exemption that other businesses would not normally receive. Why should one group of people be cannonized with no furniture/fixture tax, property tax, etc. and not let every other business or property owner have the same advantages? It is not fair nor just. And if EVERYONE pays their fair share, then taxes would be lower for EVERYONE (unless you get officials that are the spend and spend type) so it balances out in the end.
The “sales price disclosure” recommendation is a deal killer. That’s nobody’s business except for the buyer and seller.
Here’s an idea: How about limiting revenue increases so they can only be used to offset inflation and population increases? Or better yet, why can’t they just spend less money?
This report needs to go back on the toilet roll it came off of.
whan I retire I will move to Michigan. I will not be able to pay what I have calculated will be over 1400.00 a MONTH to cover my property taxes just the first year I hit 65 and it will still go up every year there after. No I will save the 1400.00 a month that it will cost me to RENT my house from the state of Taxes and move to Michigan.
Year 2006 in review:
hutchinson, brady, perry, dewhurst,nichols, creighton, sadler elected.
What to look forward to in 2007:
hutchinson does nothing nor speaks with guts about anything.
brady continues to drink in the dakotas and apologize in Texas while doing nothing.
perry raises taxes with personal income tax.
dewhurst prepares to increase spending and taxes.
nichols - first term in Texas senate - hope he lives up to his word or campaign promises.
creighton like perry already gutless on immigration probably has something to do with Creighton homes on east side of 45.
sadler calls buddies together, pays them $100,000 to say he and the rest of the elected officials in Montgomery county need a 25% pay raise and/or which includes expense account and car allowance raise.
Me - pay more taxes, work my investments so I can move out of US of Mexico after retirement and plan not to vote for any rinos or donate to any of the rino or dem parties.
A bit of irony that Paul Bettencourt’s name only made it onto the last line of the report. Should have beeen near the top with a biography in my opinion…
From what I read, the report at least tries to be fair and balanced. This is more than I expected, considering the make up of the commission.
What is the point of mentioning the half cent increase to “offset” the appraisal money “lost?”
How I actually read it, though, is less optimistic. What has happened here is the commission has set a FLOOR of appraisal cap values at 5%, instead of 3%, which is what it should be.
When this gets to Austin, they’ll hmmm…. and debate…. and reflect, and then drop the cap to 8%, delaying the doubling to 9 years instead of 7… in other words, this will accomplish nothing, just like Perry’s “tax relief and income tax” bill did last year.
What Paul left out was the growth in new housing in the report. The massive amount of new construction greatly skews the average - the more time consuming is the 1000 plus houses year to year not running sums as he has been doing.
Independent analysis shows about a 5.5% increase each year
So a 5% appraisal cap will be in most part meaningless
5% increase in taxes each year is too much, even 3% they need to go to sales and VAT
This would eliminate thousands of redundant state and county employees as well.
#24 GOPMouthpiece
If the 5% cap is meaningless, then why are the Lege, the Counties, and the Cities fighting it so much?
Wino,
first, being a constant mouthpiece yourself please reread my post, maybe a tiny bit of reading comprehension may add to it - I said a 5% was in most part meaningless that the tax should be eliminated alltogether and go to a true pay as you go system.
No city and county fought the appraisal caps - they fought the lowering of the maximum rate that Dewhurst proposed coupled with a 5% cap and they were Democrats plus Fred Hill and about 15 others that went along with him.
Wino,
that was in I think 2003 when Perry tried to get the cap lowered to 5% along with a huge cut in the maximum rates
then they fled to Ardmore blaming it on redistricting but really it was in part for the scrapping of the School funding system.
Eric,
Two things, in particular:
I’m a mouthpiece? For whom?
For your convenience, here’s the definition of Mouthpiece, from Dictionary dotcom:
“4. a person, newspaper, etc., that conveys the opinions or sentiments of others; spokesperson.”
I was quite clear in labeling your “others,” i.e., the GOP. Who are mine?
You never heard of TAC or the lobbyists that Houston hired? You are either sorely misinformed or intentionally obfuscating.
Wino,
First of all, the TAC is a lobbying group not a city or county. Second, the cities and counties that showed up for the hearings were less than 1/10th of one percent so about 1 in 1,000 showed up.
Third, no lobbyist from Houston attended those meetings as I recall - Grand Prarie did, Friendswood did, Frisco, Plano and that was about it.
Fourth, misinformed or intentionally obfuscating are exactly what I’m not doing, just trying to set the record straight.
Fifth, all you have again is namecalling, again, I am not a mouthpiece for the GOP, I just like setting the record straight. We both agree that taxes on homeowners are too high, you just are a mouthpiece for your brand of conservatism that has and always will be rejected by anyone with any common sense and are seemingly more bitter about it. Its too bad for someone as educated and intelligent as you - I’ve sent you information and reading materials but again you patently refuse to examine material that directly refutes all your stances.