Bettencourt warns on property tax appraisal creep
In recent years, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt has been one of several local conservatives raising awareness of the growing problem of property tax appraisal creep.
The Chronicle's Bill Murphy reports that Bettencourt was at it again this week, as public hearings were held on tax rates for various taxing entities in Harris County. Murphy's reporting does acknowledge growing awareness of the problem:
The state Legislature this year rejected measures that would have lowered the 10 percent cap on increases in property tax appraisals. Under current law, local governments cannot raise tax appraisals — the property value to which tax rates are applied — by more than 10 percent even if a property's market value rises more than that.
Bettencourt and other Harris County officials endorsed bills that would have lowered the cap to 5 percent.
Many other local officials statewide lobbied heavily against lower caps because they feared a significant loss of revenue.
The bolded portion is only half right. Local taxing entities did lobby hard against lower caps. However, a better characterization would be that they feared that caps would slow the sizable increases in revenues that local taxing entities have enjoyed because of appraisal creep (therefore allowing them to say they "hold the line" on raising taxes even as record tax revenue rolls in).
The notion of lowering appraisal caps makes pro-government types shudder, because it would force politicians to make hard choices (for which they can be held accountable by voters) about raising tax rates. Local politicians really want to avoid those choices, so it's in their interest to keep the system just as it is. As some point, though, one suspects that frustrated taxpayers will have their say.
Indeed, Dan Patrick's Senate run may be an interesting test in that regard, since Patrick seems determined to make property tax appraisal creep a centerpiece of his campaign. If he actually manages to win, expect to see him pound this issue in Austin.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/05 11:00 PM | Print |
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