The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has just published a new report detailing the extent of property tax growth over the last few years. The data is revealing.
According to the 2018-19 Biennial Property Tax Report, almost 4,300 local taxing units levied $67.3 billion in property taxes on homeowners and businesses in 2019. That’s a one-year increase in the tax levy of $3.5 billion or 5.5%. Since 2015, the tax levy has increased by more than $15 billion or about a 30% growth for the period.
Over a longer time horizon, property taxes continue to soar in a similar fashion. From 1998 to 2019, the average annual increase in the total property tax levy was 5.9%, meaning that cities, counties, school districts, and special districts have seen, on average, a revenue bump of almost 6% every year for the last two decades.
These data confirm that the property tax burden continues to increase at a rapid rate and that further reforms are needed, with an eye toward reversing the excessive revenue growth and letting Texans keep more of their own hard-earned money.