“You pay off your Banker, but you never pay off your Taxman.” – Senator Paul “The Taxman” Bettencourt
(He actually calls himself that. Would you be proud of that?)
And that was Mr. Bettencourt’s response at the end of my 3-minute testimony. He made it clear he did not disagree with anything I said. He made it clear he understands. But he wanted me to know, their last Homestead Exemption increase was very effective.
Okay. Well, to me, this was just a misdirection. Yes, Senator, your homestead exemption increase produced a cut. But that’s not what I asked. I asked, “Did that (or any past reforms ever) stop property taxes from rising.”
Here’s my summary of the Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform meeting on 29 NOV.
SESSION 1: TAX ROLLBACK RATE & PROCESS
Effective Tax Rate Issues
This
was a discussion about the usefulness of the Effective Tax Rate as a
red flag to inform taxpayers of proposed property tax increases and how
it could be improved.
The Effective Tax Rate is so technical it is impractical, and most taxpayers today don’t even know about it. (Did you? I didn’t.) Recommendations were made for a more meaningful benchmark for tax increases that can be communicated in ways that were not possible when the Effective Tax Rate was added.
Two brilliant women. But as far as I was concerned, it was about as relevant as firemen pulling weeds while your house burns down.
School Finance Reform
This
guy, Tommy Williams was not on the agenda. For this session, his
presentation was immaterial. A waste of oxygen and 45-minutes. But since
he was from the Governor’s office…
Witnesses: Sugarland, Mont Belvieu, Seabrook
At
least, these guys actually had some “entertaining” things to say. These
were local government employees basically telling the panel, “We don’t
need citizens empowered to limit our revenues. Everybody’s happy.” Best
response. “Your constituents are ours, as well. We hear different on
that… in other words, people are pissed.” – Sen. Brandon Creighton
SESSION 2: APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD OPERATIONS
Witnesses: Harris, Ft Bend & Montgomery County
Also
“entertaining.” Three Chief Appraisers and three Appraisal Board
members unanimously declare, “We’ve investigated ourselves and found
we’ve done nothing wrong.” I’m serious. Biggest issue identified. “We
need customer service training for appraisers.”
SESSION 3: FEASIBILITY of ELIMINATING PROPERTY TAX
Sales Tax Swap won’t Work
Listening
to Dale Craymer (TTARA President) made my eyes bleed. He opened with a
patronizing comment about how much he hated property tax, then
concluded, “No one has introduced a bill showing how [eliminating] it
would be accomplished.” And finally declared, “Eliminating all property
taxes is just not feasible.”
In 2010, Dale met face-to-face with Debra Medina and Rick Cunningham. His staff collaborated with them in discussions that resulted in HB3742. Rep. George Lavender “introduced” that “bill,” as a comprehensive solution to eliminate property tax, in 2013. Dale… hello?
Immoral Property Taxes
Mark Ramsey (RPT,
SREC) was a breath of fresh air. He made a compelling and unapologetic
presentation to Eliminate Property Tax. Best comment. “Entire nations
raise tax revenues without the help of property taxes… and they do it
with sales taxes.”
M&O Replacement Proposal
Dr. John
Diamond (Rice U / TPPF) discussed the results of his model which
simulated, over time, swapping property tax with sales tax for M&O.
To accomplish this, the sales tax rate increased 4% and broadened the
scope of goods and services. It still takes a decade to achieve, you’re
left with the rest of our Rube Goldberg tax system in place for
political abuse and… you still don’t own your property.
Conclusion
If
all these brilliant people focused on eliminating property tax, don’t
you think they could find a satisfactory way to do it? Maybe this panel
should be asking, “How can entire nations run without a property tax?”
No Relief. No Reform. #EliminatePropertyTax