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Letter to Constituents
March 14, 2007
Dear friends and fellow Texans:
I know that property taxes are a major burden and a growing
concern for many of you. I want you to know that, in one
of the most important votes so far during this legislative
session, I supported the largest property tax cut in state
history. The vote drew a lot of attention because of the
size of the tax cut, and because our state constitution does
not allow the legislature to budget for tax relief (i.e.,
the technical interpretation of “spending” in
our constitution does not include reducing taxes).
During the previous legislative session, legislators cut
property taxes and promised to replace local tax revenue
with state dollars. We just fulfilled that promise. We voted
to buy down local property taxes with state money, which
means lower taxes for people at home – including homeowners
who are seniors or who are disabled.
There was only one reasonable way to substantially reduce
property taxes. We had to vote to exceed the constitutional
spending limit which was added to the constitution in 1978.
Legislators added this limit because, at the time, no one
imagined that taxes would become such an overwhelming burden
to most Texas homeowners. Respected conservative and taxpayer
advocacy organizations supported our vote to exceed the limit
and provide real tax relief.
Here’s what people are saying about the vote:
| “Legislators fulfilled their commitment to
taxpayers. The Texas legislature promised taxpayers
a one-third school property tax reduction as part of
the school finance reform. Today legislators set the
spending cap aside and recognized that providing property
tax relief trumps political grandstanding. This will
be the largest tax reduction in the country, and Texans
will welcome property tax relief." |
— Penny Venable, Americans
for Prosperity-Texas
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| "The Texas House has taken the right step
in ensuring meaningful tax relief for all Texans." |
— Michael Quinn Sullivan,
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
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| “Texans need to understand that as long as
current state spending increases at the low rate already
proposed, a vote to exceed the constitutional spending
cap is a vote for promised tax relief…and nothing
more.” |
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—The Honorable Talmadge Heflin,
Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Fiscal Policy Studies, Texas Public
Policy Foundation;
Former Chairman, House Appropriations Committee
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The Texas House vote is a historic milestone in our effort
to reduce property taxes, increase state education funding
and limit local government growth. Based on what I’ve
heard from many of you, I believe our efforts so far will
go a long way towards making District 101 a better place
to live and raise our families.
I’m honored to be your state representative, and I’m
proud to be your voice in Austin. Please do not hesitate
to contact me, or anyone on my staff, if you have any questions
about this or other state matters.
Thomas
Latham
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