TEXAS INTERIM CHARGES. 12 Tax Charges. 3 Committees. 1 Select Committee

House Committee on Ways & Means 

#1 Harvey & Taxes.  Review the impact of Hurricane Harvey on state and local taxes. Examine the need for and the feasibility of requiring reappraisal of all property affected by large-scale disasters such as Harvey. Identify improvements to the tax-rate-setting process following such disasters. 

#2 Property Taxes: everything + the kitchen sink. Review the property tax system and identify improvements relating to:

    1. Transparency and communications with taxpayers;

    2. The tax-rate-setting process;

    3. The training and expertise required of appraisal review board members;

    4. Appraisal review board composition, structure, and process; and

    5. Appeals of appraisal review board orders. 

#3 Franchise Tax: everything + the kitchen sink. Review the franchise tax and identify any changes that would improve the state’s business climate. 

#4 Collecting Saleas Tax Out of State Businesses.  Monitor litigation to overturn the Bellas Hess and Quill decisions, thereby granting states the authority to collect sales and use taxes from remote retailers. 

Senate Finance Committee

Property Tax on Business Personal Property: Evaluate the property tax as it applies to business personal property and the current $500 exemption. Quantify the economic effect of taxing business personal property and determine whether the tax places Texas at a competitive disadvantage relative to other states. Evaluate the burden on taxpayers and local governments of administering the property tax on business personal property and determine whether the current $500 exemption should be increased. 

Interest Rate Disparity: Evaluate the rate of interest charged on delinquent property taxes and delinquent state taxes, compared to the rate of interest paid on property tax refunds and state tax refunds.

    • Evaluate the effect of interest rate disparity on the assessment decisions of governments and the payment decisions of taxpayers.

    • Quantify the amount by which state and local governments profit from interest rate disparity.

    • Identify best practices among other states regarding interest rates charged and paid.

    • Recommend a plan and timeline to reduce interest rate disparity. 

Monitor: Sporting Goods Sales Tax – Identify state and local park needs and determine whether the Sporting Goods Sales Tax is meeting those needs. 

 

Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform 

Voter Engagement: Study and recommend ways to enhance voter engagement in local government decisions around budgets and property tax rates through digital media and social media. Determine how budget and tax rate information should be formatted for effective communication through digital and social media. Identify the ways in which digital and social media present new opportunities for voters to give feedback to local governments. Identify best practices among local governments in Texas and in other states. 

Tax Rate and Appraisal Reform: Evaluate the effective tax rate and rollback tax rate calculations and identify modifications that would yield a rollback process that is meaningful for local governments and forcitizens. Evaluate whether the current rollback election trigger serves modern objectives.

  • Evaluate the operations of appraisal review boards (ARBs), specifically the training and expertise of members concerning appraisal standards and law, ethics, and meeting procedures. Determine whether ARB operations are sufficiently independent of central appraisal districts and taxing units and whether ARBs and/or chief appraisers should be elected. 

Property Tax Data: Evaluate whether existing libraries of property tax data and collection methods are adequate for studying local property tax outcomes and identifying drivers of growing property tax levies. Determine the scope of existing data, where it is stored, and how it is made available to the public. Determine whether existing, available data is adequate for the needs of the legislature and the public. Review existing procedures for the collection and verification of data. Receive recommendations from the comptroller regarding the collection, verification, and publication of property tax data. 

Lowering Property Tax Burden: Study the feasibility of replacing the property tax with sales tax or other consumption tax revenue, with emphasis on school maintenance and operations tax. Evaluate whether some local property taxes lend themselves to a swap more than others. Quantify the short-term and long-term economic effects of a tax swap. Identify a target property tax rate and evaluate how to reach that target with a consumption tax swap. 

Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee 

Hotel Occupancy Taxes: Study and make recommendations regarding the collection and use of hotel occupancy taxes to increase transparency in the imposition, rate, and use of such taxes. 

85th Texas Legislature Interim Studies | Texas House | Texas Senate

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