Even the mayor wants to lower property taxes himself.
To wit: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and his wife are challenging the assessed value of their home in an effort to lower their property taxes,dallas morning paperd.
The couple’s 5,000-square-foot home in the White Rock Lake area of east Dallas has an estimated value of nearly $1.6 million and expected taxes of about $33,000. About 28% of this will go to cities. The Johnsons have appealed the assessment every year since 2012, the outlet cited public records.
Mayor Johnson has been outspoken about his desire to lower property taxes in Dallas, saying the city already has the highest property tax rate of any major Texas city. In his April 2021 newsletter, he emphasized that the largest portion of property taxes typically go to school districts rather than cities.
The Johnsons’ home has grown in value over the years, from $280,000 in 2013 to $1.8 million this year.
The mayor’s pursuit of property tax relief is consistent with ongoing discussions at the state level. Texas lawmakers are currently in a special legislative session focused on reaching consensus on a property tax cut plan. The state House and Senate have been at odds over how to allocate about $17.6 billion in tax surplus to lower local school taxes.
Johnson said at his recent inauguration that his goal is to establish the lowest tax rate of any major city in the North Texas region within the next four years.
“Without meaningful property tax relief, residents may choose or be forced to forego the opportunity to live and work in our great city,” Johnson said at his inauguration in June, according to the outlet.
Dallas has the second-highest property tax rate among the top 10 Texas cities, behind El Paso. Last fall, the rate fell to 74.58 cents per valuated $100, the seventh straight year of cuts.
Several other members of the Dallas City Council, including Chad West and Jaime Rezendes, also protested the assessed value of their homes this year. Rezendes encouraged owners to appeal their assessments if they felt they were paying more than their fair share.
Critics, however, argue that slashing property taxes would be challenging without a state income tax.
The Dallas Central Assessment District has received more than 191,000 protests this year, and the number is expected to be slightly lower than last year’s total, according to the Dallas News. As of June 30, about 79,000 protests had been referred to the board for hearings, but the success rate of those appeals was unclear, the publication said.
— Ted Glazer
