Why are property taxes so HIGH in Texas?? (Houston, Dallas: 2014, rent)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by pop251808

There's more to life than quality of your nearest fire department and grammar school, but you DO get what you pay for, so if that's all you worry about, there are plenty of choices in semi-rural Texas. Exhibit "A" is always West,Tx. where no local government had the authority ("Thanks, Texas legislature (R)!") to prohibit storage of explosives near people's homes. Kaboom, indeed.
The OP is right, though, the property tax rate IS high here. The obvious reason is that there is little else in the way of broad based taxes in the state of Texas. No personal income tax. Not really a corporate income tax, especially for the bigger corporations, as I understand it. Even the "Texas Miracle" doesn't allow the state or local government to provide services with no money. And, of course, the thing that helps government entities get by on relatively little is that they don't provide much in the way of services a lot of people need.
In other words, (repeat after me) YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR and THERE'S NO FREE LUNCH.

It's the "How much you pay" that comes into question. When we moved ONE mile down the boulevard, staying in the same school district, with the same roads, same police, fire and EMT service, same everything EXCEPT we went from a home valued(then) at $400K(would be closer to $500K now) to one closer to $250K, our property tax bill was literally half this year compared to '13(last year in the big house).

So...were we getting ripped off when we paid ten grand in property tax on the big house???...or...are we getting a bargain at $5K on the townhouse???

"You get what you pay for" would more accurately be phrased as "You very seldom get something you DIDN'T pay for...and often DON'T get what you DID pay for".

It's one of those axioms that's every bit as incorrect as "Hindsight is always 20/20". Hindsight is RARELY 20/20 in my 6 decades of experience.

[Aquitaine]

Not really a corporate income tax, especially for the bigger corporations, as I understand it.

The Texas franchise tax applies (currently) to entities with over a million dollars in revenue, and there is a bill that has passed the Senate that would lift the exemption to four million dollars and slash the rate across the board.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Aquitaine

The Texas franchise tax applies (currently) to entities with over a million dollars in revenue, and there is a bill that has passed the Senate that would lift the exemption to four million dollars and slash the rate across the board.

Taxing revenue is very different from taxing income.

[unihills]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

It's the "How much you pay" that comes into question. When we moved ONE mile down the boulevard, staying in the same school district, with the same roads, same police, fire and EMT service, same everything EXCEPT we went from a home valued(then) at $400K(would be closer to $500K now) to one closer to $250K, our property tax bill was literally half this year compared to '13(last year in the big house).

So...were we getting ripped off when we paid ten grand in property tax on the big house???...or...are we getting a bargain at $5K on the townhouse???

"You get what you pay for" would more accurately be phrased as "You very seldom get something you DIDN'T pay for...and often DON'T get what you DID pay for".

It's one of those axioms that's every bit as incorrect as "Hindsight is always 20/20". Hindsight is RARELY 20/20 in my 6 decades of experience.

rick,

it sounds like both places have "roughly" the same tax rate, so I don't think either is a rip or a bargain. At the same assessed tax/$K values the bill for $250k should be 63% of the $400k house.

There may be a larger total tax base now than 2013 with the rapid rise in property values, so tax/$1k assessment may be a bit lower to get the same total revenues. That would account for the 50% you actually versus saw the 63% expected tax.

[Aquitaine]

Taxing revenue is very different from taxing income.

Of course. It is usually worse - I knew a flight school in Allentown, PA that would buy old planes, fix them up, and sell them - pay $300k, spend $50k, sell it for $400k...then pay local Allentown gross receipts tax on $400k.

The point is that "especially for the bigger corporations" is only true in the sense that a handful of them get tax breaks for relocating to Texas - but Texas' corporate tax policy is much more small business friendly because of the exemption.

[hoffdano]

The Texas method of taxing business produces more stable tax revenue than taxing business income like California does. California's tax revenue is highly variable from year to year and drops significantly during lean times when businesses lose money or barely have any profit. When their legislature passes spending programs when revenue is high, they get into serious trouble when incomes fall.

[scm53]

Hoffdano, as this article illustrates, same effect is seen in states relying too heavily on steeply progressive personal income taxes. Politically satisfying, plays well to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. Horrible fiscal policy.

But then, fiscal policy isn't what it is about. Is it?

[Eastcoasting]

We all view these matters of taxes, traffic, customs and culture through our own prisms of experience.

Here is the reality that I am used to.

A 1950s, 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1600 sq ft house in a very nice river town north of NYC, good schools and a very convenient train ride to GCT, the house itself, well...

$679,000.00 with $18,698 in taxes, now strap on about a 7% state income tax on your earnings.

55 Rosedale Avenue Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706 - 4509843

Texas looks pretty dang good!

[HappyTexan]

With state income tax you can not escape escalating taxes.
With local property taxes you can escape by moving to a lower COL area within the state.

I prefer local property taxes because that is under local control.
Sure Austin area property taxes are high but you all voted for those taxing entities besides city, county, ISD.

[Trainwreck20]

Yup, it is all dependent on your situation - income, property value, and spending habits, and then throw in ability to find a job and proximity to family/friends (at least in some cases). In Eastcoasting's example, that situation would land us about 25 or 30 thousand more a year in taxes; ofc, it is possible that we would make that much more. The actual house payment is another matter, though.