Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is cracking down on several Texas cities for what he describes as potentially illegal property tax increases. Citing violations of a new state law, Paxton has sent cease-and-desist letters to La Marque, Odessa, Tom Bean, and Whitesboro, as reported on October 2 by the Attorney General's Office. SB 1851, which was passed in the last legislative session, restricts tax increases by cities that have failed to meet the state's auditing requirements.
"I have grave concerns that municipalities across Texas have blatantly violated the law in an attempt to crank up people’s property taxes," Paxton said in a statement obtained by the Attorney General's Office. He further directed a message to these cities: "don’t mess with Texas taxpayers." The law necessitates that cities submit their annual financial reports within a specific timeframe. However, several municipalities, in apparent non-compliance, enacted property tax hikes up to 51%—surpassing the legal limit set for cities that have not met audit demands.
Under the stipulations of SB 1851, cities that do not adhere to the state's audit requirements may only increase taxes sufficiently to maintain the amount of revenue generated in the previous year. By moving ahead with the tax increases, these cities are potentially setting themselves up for a legal standoff with the attorney general's office, which has pledged to protect Texas taxpayers and enforce compliance with the law.
Enforcement of this law has caught the attention of taxpayers and local officials alike, some of whom have either submitted their reports late or not at all, and yet have proceeded to plan property tax increases. Paxton's office argues that this is a direct affront to taxpayer trust and fiscal responsibility. To brush against such transgressions, letters have now been dispatched by Paxton to the cities in question, instructing them to pause their potentially unlawful planned tax increase.
