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Political Landscape

April 30, 2009

Replacing ad valorem taxes

Most property owners would love to see an end to property taxes in Texas, but no one can agree on what should replace it.  While waiting to testify at the House Ways & Means Committee hearing last night, I got to hear testimony on HB 508 authored by Representative Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham).  HB 508 would direct the comptroller to conduct a study examining the implementation of a transaction tax in Texas. 


What is a transaction tax? The bill defines it as a tax that:(1) taxes every transaction that occurs in this state; and (2) is electronically collected by financial institutions using banking data systems that are used in other economies for that purpose."

Witnesses testifying in support of the bill went on to describe it as a tax that would take a percentage of every single electronic financial transaction affecting Texas accounts.  These could include debit card transactions, check payments, payroll direct deposits, brokerage account transactions, and many more. If you want to hear for yourself, view the video here and skip ahead to the 1:48:00 mark. (it is 4/29/09 - 7:05 p.m. to 10:53 p.m.).

Josh Estes

Posted at 04:21 PM in by Joshua Estes, Current Affairs, Legislative Updates, Political Landscape, Property Tax Relief | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 28, 2009

2009 Outlook for Dallas County appraised values

Some major appraisal districts across the state have already sent notices of appraised value, but we have not yet seen any from Dallas.  Last week, Ken Nolan, Chief Appraiser of Dallas Central Appraisal District, participated in a panel discussion at the State Bar of Texas Property Tax Section Annual Meeting in Austin. While most of the conversation dealt with other issues facing appraisal districts, Mr. Nolan did address, in very general terms, the values we will see on notices of appraised value coming out this week.  


On the residential side, he stated that southern Dallas County has been hardest hit by foreclosures, and noticed values in that sector will be down.  In North Dallas, values will remain flat, but values will actually go up slightly in northwest Dallas County.  The appraisal district has much available data for residential properties, and he noted that these changes are supported by the data from these zones. 

For commercial property, he anticipates a one-to-two percent increase, but he stressed that commercial property has the biggest potential for heavy decreases as a result of protests.  A recent sale for an amount lower than the 2008 appraised value indicates that the market value of office buildings has gone down, and lower values may also result from the financial documentation that property owners will provide to support their requests for lower values.  For commercial property owners, this year's protest will be critical because the lack of information available to the appraisal district will mean potential savings are greater than ever.

         As always, please do not hesitate to call or email me with questions or comments.

Josh Estes

Posted at 11:31 AM in by Joshua Estes, Current Affairs, Political Landscape, Property Tax Relief | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 08, 2009

Battle brewing over wind energy windfall.

The good news:  Texas is the leading producer of wind energy in the United States, and the current boom in green energy has created explosive growth of wind farms in Texas.  This growth has been profitable landowners and producers, and now taxing entities have begun to see increased tax bases as a result.  

The bad news:  For many school districts experiencing heavy capital investments in wind energy, the additional tax money would be sent to the state under the Robin Hood plan.  Rather than seeing the money sent away, many districts are entering into abatement agreements with the producers and then immediately agreeing to Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) agreements.  The cumulative effect?  So far 44 school districts have granted $700 million in abatements and will receive back $248 million over the next ten years.  

Is this a good thing?  That probably depends on your perspective.  You can read the full Associated Press article by Danny Robbins here.


Josh Estes

Posted at 02:41 PM in by Joshua Estes, Current Affairs, Political Landscape | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 05, 2008

Speaker's Race Turmoil May Alter Property Tax Agenda

Current Speaker of the Texas House Tom Craddick has been a vigorous proponent of structural changes to the property tax system. Under his leadership, hearings were held during the summer to formulate legislative changes. Last night's election returns, however, may have had a significant effect on the property tax agenda for next spring. As of this writing, Republicans hold a slim 76-74 majority in the Texas House, with some races closely decided and subject to recount. Speaker Craddick was unpopular with some members of his own party before the election, however, he did have some support on the Democratic side of the aisle. The first order of business for the House when it convenes on January 13, 2009 will be the election of a Speaker. If a new Speaker is elected, property tax reform could take a backseat to other matters, and numerous candidates for the position of Speaker are coming forward.

John Brusniak, Jr. and
Joshua Estes

Posted at 03:28 PM in by John Brusniak, Jr., by Joshua Estes, Political Landscape | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)