The Crazy Stipulations of a Texas Bill That Kills Your Property Tax
Paying taxes is such a pain. Sometimes it feels like we don't even own what we've bought because of the constant taxation of it. One of those constant thorn-in-our-side taxes is property taxes. I am not a home owner but hope to be in the near future and I will admit that I am not looking forward to having to pay a property tax. But it is one of those necessary evils we have to deal with. A Greenville, Texas representative introduced a bill recently that could eliminate your property tax. Thing is, the stipulations for that elimination are ridiculous and the bill may be dead before it even gets to a vote.
Texas House Bill 2889
Former state representative (I'll get to that in just a minute) Bryan Slaton from Greenville introduced House Bill 2889 that would provide some relief, and in some cases a complete elimination, of their property tax. The stipulations set aside in the bill are you need to be a married couple with children (either birthed or adopted) to get the tax break. If you divorce, than the tax break goes away. The bill goes on to state that the more kids you have, the greater the tax break that could lead up to a complete elimination of the property tax.
...relating to a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed by a taxing unit on the residence homestead of a married couple that increases in amount based upon the number of children of the couple and reimbursement to taxing units for the revenue loss incurred as a result of the credit. - House Bill 3889
Bill's Stipulations
The stipulations for the tax credit are you must be married and have children either by birth or by adoption or a combination of the two. The couple cannot get divorced, either, or will lose the tax break. The more children the couple have, the bigger the tax break, too:
- 1 to 3 Children - 10% Discount
- 4 Children - %40 Discount
- 5 Children - 50% Discount
- 6 Children - 60% Discount
- 7 Children - 70% Discount
- 8 Children - 80% Discount
- 9 Children - 90% Discount
- 10 Children - Property Tax Eliminated
Bill May Be Dead in the Water
The problem with this bill is that the author, Bryan Slaton, is no longer a state representative. In May (2023) he was expelled from the Texas House for having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer and trying to cover up some other inappropriate relationships (KXAN). No vote has been made on the bill but it does not look like it has much of a chance to pass. Read the full text of the bill at capitol.texas.gov.