AUSTIN— Today, the Texas House passed HB 297 which would eliminate the school districts’ maintenance and operations property tax and replace it with a more efficient sales tax.
“Texas’ economy is the strongest in the country — owing in large part to the commitment of policymakers to the Texas Model and strong conservative fiscal leadership,” said Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., executive director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “HB 297, if paired with fiscal restraint in budgeting, would sustain our prosperity.”
HB 297 would establish an interim committee to study the most effective way to move from a maintenance and operations property tax to a sales tax system by January 1, 2022.
“The Foundation has long supported the elimination of property taxes in favor of a less burdensome sales tax system,” said Vance Ginn, Ph.D., senior economist and director of the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “The Texas House’s passage of HB 297 provides an excellent opportunity to eliminate nearly half of the costly property tax burden along with almost all of the disliked Robin Hood system. This legislation should make its way through the process and to the Governor’s desk so there can be a robust discussion during the interim of how to make Texas an even greater economic juggernaut for prosperity.”