President, TTARA Research Foundation
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Although population and economic factors have played a role in rising property tax levies in Texas over the last 30 years, a growing population and rising property values do not necessarily translate to higher levies. Property tax levies are the end product of a complex legal process created by the state legislature, outlined in the Texas Tax Code, and administered by local officials. As recent demands for property tax relief demonstrate, that process has not afforded the businesses and homeowners of Texas the degree of control over property tax levies that they wish to have, prompting legislators to propose a lower rollback rate in both the 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions. Technology of the digital age offers an attractive alternative to after-the-fact rollback elections and state limitations on local decision-making. State lawmakers, as the creators of the property tax process, have the power to legislate changes that will deliver clearer, timely, more relevant information to property owners and simultaneously give them a practical, modern tool to contain their local property tax burden at the desired level.
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