BRANDON CREIGHTON: Tax relief legislation passes Texas Senate

By Brandon Creighton
State Sen., Dist. 4 | Posted: Friday, May 1, 2015 10:04 pm

The truth about S.B. 893

CREIGHTON

Standing strong for taxpayer rights was a promise I made to the citizens of Senate District 4. My signature property tax relief legislation, SB 1760, levels the playing field for Texas taxpayers. I’m thankful my Senate colleagues voted to pass this landmark legislation April 30.

Below are a few highlights of the bill:

Taxpayers due a refund will no longer have to apply to receive it.

It provides interest rate equality for taxpayers by increasing the interest rate on refunds due to taxpayers to 9.5 percent.

It requires local taxing entities (applies to school districts and all other taxing jurisdictions) to justify the necessity of a tax increase on notices and election ballots.

It allows a court hearing on appraisal dispute to give preference to the testimony of an independent licensed appraiser.

And, requires the Texas Comptroller to compile and annually publish a ranked list of tax rates by entity; deterring tax rate increases.

An amendment by Senator Paul Bettencourt was also added to this bill requiring a local government have a 60 percent vote of the governing body instead of the current 50 percent if they wish to increase taxes.