Gov. Perry Praises Rep. Betty Brown for Helping Pass Property Tax Relief

[Press Release from the office of Rep. Betty Brown (R-Terrell), TX-HD-04]

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today praised the efforts of state Rep. Betty Brown (R-Athens) in helping the Texas House pass a package of bills that will provide record property tax relief and reform the business tax structure in the state.

“I commend Rep. Brown for her work on passage of a package of bills that will provide record property tax relief and reform our franchise tax,” Perry said.  “Rep. Brown worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to oppose a variety of exemptions for special interests, and in so doing protected the integrity of our plan, which provides historic property tax relief and a fairer, broader business tax assessed at a lower rate.”

House Bill 1, sponsored by Rep. Warren Chisum (R - Pampa), Rep. Rob Eissler (R - The Woodlands) and Rep. Dan Branch (R - Dallas), uses $2.1 billion in state surplus funds to buy down property taxes 17 cents in the first year. The bill would go into effect this year.

House Bill 2 by Rep. Jim Pitts (R - Waxahachie) dedicates all the revenue raised in the House Bills 1, 2, 3 and 4 to school district property tax relief. It creates a Property Tax Relief Fund outside of the general revenue fund. Revenues generated by changes in franchise, cigarette and sales taxes on used motor vehicles must go into the Property Tax Relief Fund, which can only be appropriated to cut school property tax rates.

House Bill 3, sponsored by Rep. Jim Keffer (R - Eastland), Rep. John Otto (R - Dayton) and Rep. Vilma Luna (D - Corpus Christi), revises the franchise tax provisions in Texas to ensure that each business pays its fair share of education costs. This bill will be the primary source of funds used to buy down property tax rates. The primary franchise tax will be lowered from 4.5 percent to 1 percent and an additional $3.4 billion will be generated annually from businesses, including those that currently avoid paying the franchise tax through loopholes. Retail and wholesale firms will pay a 0.5 percent rate.

House Bill 4, sponsored by Rep. David Swinford (R - Dumas), tightens the language and the requirements for the sale of used motor vehicles to replace documents previously dubbed as the “liar’s affidavit” requiring sellers to pay sales tax on at least 80 percent of a vehicle’s blue book value.

“I look forward to working with the Senate to pass this plan so we can meet the court mandate and the popular mandate to enact meaningful school finance reform,” Perry added.