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Proposing a constitutional amendment to provide property tax relief
by reducing school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax rates and
increasing the state sales and use tax rates.
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HJR3, Committee
Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($177,289) through the biennium ending
August 31, 2021.
HJR 3 would propose amending Article VIII of the Texas Constitution to raise the state sales tax to 7.25% (from 6.25%). The amendment would additionally provide for using excess sales and use tax money to provide property tax relief by reducing school district property tax rates. The amendment would need to be approved by voters in a November 2019 election in order to go into effect.
Texas Action opposes HJR 3 (and its enabling legislation HB 4621) for violating the principles of limited government and free markets. We are skeptical of the idea of a tax swap to provide for property tax relief as there is no guarantee that such a measure will actually result in permanent and meaningful property tax reduction. Texas has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Property tax relief, which is urgently necessary, should not come at the expense of increasing sales taxes.
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