El Paso Standard

The chief economist of a non-profit, non-partisan research institute continues to promote a property tax relief plan for Texas, as property taxes have increased 81% over the last 20 years.

Vance Ginn, chief economist for the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), referenced a report by the Austin Journal about a proposal that would stand to decrease property taxes across the state of Texas by up to 80%. The plan would use surplus funds from the state budget to pay down maintenance and operations (M&O) taxes by 2033, when they would then be eliminated.

Ginn has been promoting the foundation’s “Lower Taxes, Better Texas” plan that would use the state’s “surplus funds to buy down the maintenance and operations (M&O) portion of school taxes,” Ginn said in a recent release on CannonOnline.com. 

The M&O portion is the biggest part of the tax bill and represents 80% of property taxes in Texas, Ginn recently told the Texas Senate Finance Committee. The tax relief would also allow for funding of critical services.

“Texans want this: whether rich or poor, urban or rural, homeowner or renter, Texans face an affordability crisis that can be helped with property tax relief,” Ginn said in a recent email newsletter. “And they want it now. No matter how you slice it, Texans everywhere need property tax relief. It won't happen overnight, but by implementing our Lower Taxes, Better Texas plan and working together, we can fight for Texans' right to property and a life free from under the heel of big government.”

El Paso, one of the state’s most populous cities, had a property tax levy that grew 51% in five years, from $256.6 million in 2016 to $387.4 million in 2020, a TPPF report said. The combined population and inflation for the city grew by 7.7% during that time, resulting in a difference between the two of 43.3%.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott supports using the state surplus to reduce property taxes.

“He [Abbott] strongly supports using the state surplus to reduce the amount of property taxes owed and will work with the Legislature in the next session to do it in an efficient way that will ensure it endures for years to come, rather than as a one-time buy down,” Renae Eze, Abbott’s press secretary, recently told the Journal. “And under his Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Gov. Abbott will continue working to deliver substantial and lasting property tax cuts.”