The Texas 89th Legislature - and two special sessions - have come to a close with lackluster results for property tax reform. 

It started off promising. During his State of the State address earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott named property tax relief an emergency legislative item. His proposal included using at least $10 billion from the state’s budget surplus for property tax relief and aimed to increase voter approval thresholds to two-thirds for any local bond or tax rate elections. 

The results fell far short of the goal, and the Texas Legislature once again missed a huge opportunity to effect long-term change.

The Great Divide: Compression vs. Exemptions

The House and Senate continue to butt heads on the best method for delivering tax relief, particularly around rate compression versus expanded exemptions. 

Exemptions reduce a property's taxable value for specific owners, such as veterans, senior citizens, etc. whereas compression reduces the overall tax rate for all properties, both residential and commercial. 

The Libertarian Party of Texas (LPTexas) supports the elimination of property taxes. Texan home and business owners should truly own their property and not be forced to pay rent to the government to avoid eviction. Most economists agree that compression is a critical step toward elimination. Moreover, compression gives relief to everyone – homeowners, business owners and even renters all benefit from compression.

Appeasing the Masses

Meanwhile, Texas ranks 7th-highest in the country in property tax rates at 1.36 percent of owner-occupied housing value according to the Tax Foundation. And yet every legislative session, despite all of the campaign promises and the pomp and circumstance, the Texas Legislature fails to deliver the reform Texans deserve.

Instead, we get half measures in the way of exemptions and exceptions that are proposed as Texas Constitutional amendments every couple of years. These propositions, which generally grant some relief to specific types of homeowners, tend to pull on voters’ heartstrings while failing to mention that the resulting tax burden will be shifted to other home and business owners. 

There are six property tax-related constitutional amendments that will appear on ballots this November that, while incrementally positive, will do little to move the needle toward property tax elimination. 

Walking the Talk

The good news is that discourse around property tax elimination is picking up steam. Here in Texas, State Representative Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) authored HRJ 64 (and enabling legislation HB 698) proposing a constitutional amendment to eliminate all property taxes by January 31, 2031. Unfortunately, this never made it out of the House Ways & Means Committee. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis recently voiced support for a 2026 ballot initiative to give voters the option to eliminate property taxes for homesteaded properties.

Voters are understandably skeptical and with good reason. So what can we Libertarians do to ensure the Texas Legislature puts its foot on the gas? 

• Leverage Surplus for Property Tax Buy-Down – Back in January of this year, then Comptroller Glenn Hagar projected a state budget surplus of nearly $24 billion. This surplus (or what’s left of it after the reckless spending of the 89th Legislature!) should be used to buy down property taxes until they can be eliminated. Libertarians should support candidates who want to return a majority of that surplus back to taxpayers and lead Texas toward true property ownership.
• Rein in Spending - Opponents of property tax elimination argue that the loss of revenue would have a negative impact on local services like schools, roads and law enforcement. But it’s the spending that is the problem - not a lack of revenue. State and local government spending is through the roof, and Libertarians need to run and support fiscally responsible candidates who understand the difference between a want and a need and are committed to balanced budgets.
• Support a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying - It was disappointing to see the 89th Legislature end without a signed bill to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, especially because it was a legislative priority for both the Texas GOP and for LPTexas. Such a ban would prevent local governments from using tax dollars to pay professional lobbyists, many of whom are charged with advocating for legislation that results in an increase in spending and/or taxation - both of which move us further away from property tax elimination.

Libertarians are the strongest advocates in the country for property tax elimination. Use your voice and your vote to ensure that Texas moves in the right direction.