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By Tim Brown, Operations Manager, County Information Project |
One wa y to meas ure the tax burden of a population is the ratio of taxes to personal income. This ratio, or percentage, is often used to determine if the tax burden is growing relative to the wealth of the populace.
In Texas, the school districts have traditionally received more than 60 percent of all the property taxes collected statewide. Note below that schools have also been taking an increasing percentage of the personal income generated in Texas since 1985. While the 1990’s provided some relief, evidenced by the downward trend in the green line, overall the percentage of personal income going to school property taxes increased significantly from 1985 to 2005.
Over the same period, counties and special districts saw an increase starting around 2000 after falling for most of the 90’s. The increase in the percentage since 2000 may be attributable in part to the state’s budget crisis which saw the state shifting some costs to local governments (indigent defense, indigent health care – due to reduction in Medicaid & CHIP funding, reimbursement of witnesses, etc.). Of course, growth in personal income slowed dramatically at the same time, while inflation and other cost drivers continued putting upward pressure on local budgets.
Cities also saw increases during this decade but the percentage of personal income going to pay city property taxes actually ended up lower in 2005 than in 1985. This might be explained by the alternative funding sources available to cities. By relying more on other revenue sources, the cities would have felt less pressure to increase property taxes.
