Real Values for Texas | Property Tax Reform for Texas

Austin City Council Presents a Challenge
May 30, 2015
Just hours before community members were to attend a property tax appraisal forum in Austin on May 19, the City of Austin released its study showing the undervaluation of commercial properties in the city. The report underscores the inequities of the current property tax appraisal system and the need for reform. In addition, at the…
Victory in State Legislature!
May 29, 2015
For years, no one believed that any responsible property tax reform could pass the legislature in Texas. But after more than a year of campaigning from Houston to San Antonio and El Paso to Austin, Real Values for Texas is shaking those assumptions. The State Legislature Takes a Step Toward Reform On Saturday, May 23, Governor…

City Fact Sheets
November 24, 2014
While most homeowners pay taxes on the real value of their property, many large commercial property owners routinely use appeals and lawsuits to avoid paying their fair share. Texas’s flawed property tax system unfairly burdens homeowners who have to pay more when large commercial properties pay less. Below are fact sheets you can download and…

Testimonials

“When Williams Square walks away with a lower value, everybody else is picking up the tab.” – W. Kenneth Nolan, Chief Appraiser for the Dallas Central Appraisal District (Dallas Morning News, May 2014)
“It’s the equivalent of backing up the Brink’s truck to the public trough and driving away. It’s a legal way to steal dollars.” – Michael Amezquita, Bexar County’s Chief Appraiser (Houston Chronicle, May 2013)
“We are literally required to do our job with one hand tied behind our backs. The net result is an undue shift of the tax burden onto homeowners.” – Jim Robinson, former Harris County Chief Appraiser, Chairman of the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts (Dallas Morning News, July 2009)
“Property tax fairness is an issue important to the city’s bottom line and that of every residential property owner because they are bearing an unequal tax burden. Clearly, all properties need to be valued appropriately. The current system is obviously inequitable and rewards a lack of transparency by the owners of many commercial properties. All too often, sound valuations made by Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) are unfairly attacked by these owners, and HCAD, bound by a system that favors the owners, is forced to defend its actions with one hand tied behind its back. It is time for a change, and the state legislature is the primary place to make that change.” -Houston Mayor Annise Parker (May 2013)

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