Taxes

"The difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." Will Rogers

Property Tax & Appraisals

El Paso high and rising forclosure rate is an urgnt problem! The problem is caused by a combination of increased property tax as a direct result of higher appraisals. This problem can not be fixed until appraisals are addressed.

A popular saying states "A man's home is his castle" what the saying omits is the property tax is a barrier to home ownership for low-income El Pasoans, financially squeezing the middle class, and driving fixed-income seniors out of their homes. For most El Pasoans, homeownership is a huge, life-long investment, yet the government by their actions controls both the worth and increases taxes "on that castle" in perpetuity.

Problem: Under the current system the appraisal board says "you have a right to appeal" but the fact of the matter is anyone who has gone through this process knows this is false. This process is no more than a kangaroo court that will waste your time and money.

Solutions: 1) Required that local appraisals boards be elected (making members of the appraisal review boards answerable to the public rather than the taxing entities which appoint them); 2) the method by which property taxes are calculated and levied should be reformed, including creating a uniform statewide standard for property tax appraisal.

"Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, and politicians. All three need supervision." Dick Army

If you earned it, why should Chente decide how it is spent.

Do yourself a favor look up Chente voting record. According to Texans for Fiscal Responsibility Chente received a grade of 33.3% on fiscal responsibility. In other words he voted to raise your taxes 76.7% of the time.

A failing grade by any measure, imagine if school children could receive a passing grade with such a score.

Add that on top of the increase in gas prices and most El Pasoans are struggling to make ends meet. Next time you see him tell him you want your taxes lowered! To stop spending your families money!

“The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.” President Reagan

Gross Margins Tax

A disaster for small business in Texas, and therefore the state’s economy. Approximately 84% of Texas small businesses will see their tax burdens increase by more than 100 percent over their previous franchise tax bill. If you own a small busineess a vote for the democrate party is a vote against yourself.

Problem: The tax cannot be reformed without being made more complicated, and it cannot be fixed because it is based on faulty economic premise.

Solution: Repeal the Gross Marginal Tax. By controlling the growth of government and devoting surplus revenues to property tax reduction, the business tax is simply not needed. With our economic competitors worldwide cutting business taxes, and the U.S. economy slowing, it is even more important that immediate action be taken.