Texas Democrat Warns of MAGA Republican Hidden Taxes

Commissioner Tommy Calvert has voted 8 times in 7 years to lower taxes for families.  

SAN ANTONIO, May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising property appraisals and hidden taxes that are hurting seniors and working families are primarily the results of Republican policies that Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert has been warning the public about since June 2017.

ALERT:  Monday, May 16, is the last day for homeowners to protest their skyrocketing property assessments.

"When Democrat Ann Richards was governor, the State of Texas paid 50 percent of the public school budget and property owners paid the other 50 percent," Commissioner Calvert said. "Today, the state pays 40 percent and burdens the homeowner with 60 percent through higher property taxes. What the Republican leadership is doing is passing hidden taxes on to the backs of property owners. Harry Truman once said that if you want to live like a Republican, you better vote for a Democrat. I say, if you want property tax relief in Texas, you better vote for Democrats statewide." 

For example, in 2017, when Calvert began sounding the high tax alarm, the Republican property tax increase was hidden in the Senate budget bill (page 381, rider III) so that voters would never find it.

"You can look it up," Commissioner Calvert said. "The bill mandated appraisals increase by 13.81 percent on school property taxes, which account for over 50 percent of homeowners tax bills.  (See attached document "3. Foundation School Program Funding Formula Paragraph 2, Dated May 23, 2017). 

This pattern has been happening ever since Republicans took control of the Texas Legislature and the Governor's office decades ago. In 2022, Bexar County property appraisals increased an average of 28 percent. 

Commissioner Calvert supported mainstream Republican Speaker Joe Straus's proposal to take $1 billion dollars from the Texas Rainy Day Fund to give homeowners meaningful property tax relief. Still, the former Speaker lost the debate to MAGA Republican leadership of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott in a special session standoff in 2017, right before Straus retired from the Texas House.  

"All of us are at the breaking point," Commissioner Calvert said. "State leadership and the Republican-controlled Legislature have the power to provide meaningful relief to the hardworking men and women of this state and they won't do it. We should not have to sacrifice much-needed community services, quality education for our children, and be forced to decide between paying for family essentials or our exorbitant property tax bills or face losing our homes. We Texans deserve better."

Homeowners still have higher property taxes because cities and counties only represent 12-17 percent of a person's tax bill.  Bexar County only represents about 17 percent of the entire property tax bill.

In seven years on Commissioners Court, Commissioner Calvert's tax cuts have given back an estimated $107 million to homeowners in savings since 2015.  

To offset growing tax burdens, Commissioner Calvert created the first tax exemption for seniors at the University Health System (Bexar County Hospital District) and is expanding the exemption from $10,000 to $35,000 per homestead. Additionally, Commissioner Calvert championed an across-the-board $5,000 homestead exemption, which was approved by Commissioners Court earlier this year.

"I've got a strong record of standing up for taxpayers," Commissioner Calvert said. "I'm going to keep fighting for working families."

About Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert
Tommy Calvert is Bexar County Commissioner for Precinct 4. He's the youngest and first African American County Commissioner in Bexar County history. Los Angeles Weekly called him San Antonio's "wunderkind," and Gardner Selby of the Austin-American Statesman said he is "one to watch." Calvert represents over 500,000 residents in Precinct 4 of the 2 million who call Bexar County home.

CONTACT: 
Carlos de Leon
210-317-1592
[email protected] 

SOURCE Tommy Calvert, Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 4