By Travis McGee
Our taxes are too damn high, but expectations for our tax funded governmental services are too damn low. Our taxing entities have a very bad habit of misappropriating, misusing, not prioritizing, irresponsibly spending, and in some cases stealing our hard-earned tax dollars. Once they misuse our MONEY they come back and ask for more, even though we can’t afford to do so. When disasters happen, they take advantage of that also by creating loop holes to raise our taxes that doesn’t need our approval. Regardless of what they may call it, it’s still a tax. Bonds, fees, tolls, Tirz, managements districts are all some forms of taxes on top of taxes. Being a homeowner and business owner is the American Dream, but taxes can make it the American nightmare.
A tax hike is a tax hike no matter how big or how small. A tax rate increase and property value increase are not the same thing, as your property value goes up your taxes will go up anyway so we are being over taxed. In reality 5% really means 10%. Residents of Houston/ Harris County are actually fed-up versus STRONG. We have to endure storm after storm, flood after flood, blackout after blackout, and tax after tax with very little improvements generated from our tax dollars. Taxation should always reflect the level of representation we receive.
In fact, representation should exceed taxation at all times. Taxation without representation is essentially theft—it means we’re paying for services and representation that we’re not receiving. When elected officials and government agencies say they’re “not raising taxes,” it’s often a red flag that taxes are indeed increasing. Protect your money by voting “NO” on bond propositions, tax hikes, and fees—all of which amount to the same thing: more of your hard- earned money. If you’re unsure, just consider past examples, like the Harris County Toll Road, where costs increased from $610 million to $896 million over a decade—a 47% hike—while it generated $3.5 billion in profits.
In the last two years, Harris County property taxes have increased by almost 36%, resulting in $900 million more in tax revenue. Meanwhile, the TIRZ (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone), which was intended to support underserved and economically challenged areas, has often been misapplied to affluent areas, locking in over $250 million annually. And don’t forget Metro, which takes a billion-dollar cut from sales tax—a significant burden. Remember REBULD HOUSTON, which was a drainage fee voted on over 14 years ago.
