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Relating to community land trusts.
Passage of the bill would increase the amount of property that may be eligible for a community land trust exemption. As a result, taxable property values could be reduced and the related costs to the Foundation School Fund could be increased through the operation of the school finance formulas.
Under current law, community land trusts are organized as nonprofit organizations to provide affordable housing for low-income and moderate-income residents in the community. SB 113 would expand the types of ways a community land trust can be organized; expand the number of tax exemptions related to community land trusts; require the chief appraiser to use the income method of appraisal for taxes charged to a low-income family that receives housing from a community land trust, regardless of the method preferred by the appraiser; and provide other restrictions on land appraisal for such low-income housing.
SB 113 infringes on the principles of limited government and the free market by expanding the preferential treatment of certain groups through community land trust and adjusting taxation in a way that would further distort the market. Providing these kinds of services is within the proper domain of charitable and philanthropic organizations - not special organizations sanctioned by the state and vested with special tax treatment based on the service they provide.
Texas Action opposes SB 113.