The Senate Finance Committee approved SB 1 and SB 7 by Senator Jane Nelson to provide approximately $4 billion in tax relief to Texas homeowners and businesses. The bills will now move before the full Senate.
"Thanks to the hard work of Texas families and businesses, our economy has produced more than enough money to meet our needs while also giving a significant amount of funds back to the taxpayer," said Senator Nelson. "Every dollar government spends is a dollar a taxpayer earned, so we need to return those dollars to them whenever possible."
SB 1 provides for more than $2 billion in property tax relief by setting the homestead exemption to 25 percent of the state's home median market value. SB 7 provides $1.8 billion in business tax relief by reducing the business franchise tax rate, also known as the margins tax, by 15 percent. It would also increase the availability of the E-Z tax calculation to businesses with revenue of $20 million or less and decrease the E-Z tax rate.
The Senate Finance Committee also approved SJR 1 by Senator Nelson, which would put the homestead exemption in front of voters as a constitutional amendment and would constitutionally dedicate the funds in SB 1, exempting them from the constitutional spending cap. SJR 1 also would constitutionally prohibit the establishment of any tax on real estate sales.
