Nichols files constitutional amendment to reduce property value increases
By Stephen Green | Posted: Saturday, January 31, 2015 8:32 pm
One Montgomery County lawmaker’s bill to cut property value increases is closer to being considered after it was referred to the Texas Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
District 3 state senator Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, wants to cut the amount an individual’s property value is increased each year by as much as half in a pair of recently proposed legislation.
Nichols filed two bills that both attempt to reduce the amount appraisal districts can increase what he calls the “slowly, rapidly-rising taxable values on Texas homes.”
“Escalating tax appraisals make home ownership less and less affordable,” he said. “We need to keep citizens from being taxed out of their homes and significantly limit increasing tax appraisals, which result in larger tax bills.”
Senate Bill 156 and Senate Joint Resolution 14 change the maximum amount appraisal districts can increase property amounts.
Currently, appraisal districts’ maximum increase is the lower of either the market value of the property or 10 percent of the previous tax year’s value. Nichols’s bill cuts the second option in half, to five percent of the previous tax year’s value.
If a home has a market value of $107,500 under Nichols’s bill, the five-percent rule would put the maximum value at $105,000. Under the current law, the 10-percent rule would put the value at $110,000, which means the homeowner would hypothetically save $2,500 in taxable value.
“When your property value increases, it doesn’t mean you have any more money in your pocket,” Nichols said. “We must keep the maximum increase as low as possible so individuals and families can continue to afford living in their homes. In Texas, we have placed an unfair share of the tax burden on homeowners.”
SJR 14 is a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution, while SB 156 is a law. SJR 14 hasn’t gained any traction as of yet. SB 156 has been read for the first time and was sent to the Senate Finance Committee.
