Not seeing property tax relief despite Texas' historic tax cut? Here's why

AUSTIN, Texas — Some Texans are still not seeing property tax relief, despite Governor Greg Abbott signing a historic $18 billion property tax cut bill that voters approved earlier this month.

Don Zimmerman with the Travis County Taxpayers’ Union is one of the millions of homeowners who saw his property tax bill decrease because of the 2023 tax relief plan.

“I’ve been here for 23 years, in the Round Rock ISD out in northwest Austin. My tax bill did go down because I have a homestead exemption. I’m not quite 65 but I’m kind of in that sweet spot of getting the most tax relief,” he said.

Although he received a reduction, Zimmerman thinks more should be done for those who are ‘still’ paying high taxes.

“What upsets me is the people who are not getting tax relief. The younger families, the people who rent, and the small businesses are just being destroyed economically by these unaffordable tax increases,” said Zimmerman.

John James Quintero is the policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He tells CBS Austin, that there are pockets of the state like Austin that are not enjoying the full relief provided by the legislature.

He’s pointing to three reasons that are causing this.

RELATED| Texas homeowners and businesses will get a tax cut after voters approve Proposition 4

“One is some jurisdictions could be adopting tax rates that are more than what they should be. It could also be that these jurisdictions are holding bond elections. And the third way is, and this was most experienced in Round Rock, some jurisdictions could be holding what’s known as voter approval tax rate elections,” said Quintero.

Quintero says that is just a fancy way of saying 'tax increase election.'

“So, governments are asking voters to approve or reject setting their tax rates high,” he said.

Quintero adds the level of relief that a homeowner’s experience is directly tied to the decisions made in our city halls, school boards, and county commissioner courts.

CBS Austin asked Quintero, “What could be done to overcome those obstacles and receive the relief?”

He responded, “It's important that our homeowners get engaged in the process and start telling their local elected officials right now, that for the next fiscal year, they ought to be looking at adopting what's known as the no new revenue tax rate.”

Quintero explained that would hold the tax rate steady, give taxpayers some relief, and complement what the legislature did earlier this year.

However, Zimmerman believes the solution to getting all Texans taxpayer relief is electing fiscal conservatives who can sit on boards and trim budgets.

“As long as these local governments and school districts keep driving up their spending as they’ve been doing. There’s not going to be any tax relief because the out-of-control taxes come from out-of-control spending,” he said.

Voters also approved other tax changes as part of Proposition 4. This included putting a cap on how much certain businesses’ property values can be. The change is said to help owners determine how much their tax bill will be.

To learn if you qualify for a tax exemption, click here.