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Coastal Bend homeowners could benefit from a $16.5B property tax relief proposal

The plan being pitched at the state level, calls for increasing the homestead exemption -- a way for people to reduce their school property tax bill.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There is a proposal for a statewide property tax relief plan that, if adopted, would help reduce taxes for all homeowners -- especially senior citizens and disabled residents. 

State senators spent Wednesday in hearings explaining just how $16.5 billion in surplus funds could help bring significant savings to many of the Texas homeowners who need it most. 

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, said the plan could put many Americans in better financial positions.  

“What we have is tremendously good news for Texas taxpayers today," he said. "These are eye-popping, off-the-chart numbers of savings that they can realize through the Senate plan." 

The plan calls for increasing the homestead exemption, which is a way for homeowners to reduce what they pay in school property taxes. 

Right now, the homestead exemption sits at $40,000, but the Texas Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, wants to increase that to $70,000.

Bettencourt, who is the architect of the plan, also is the the CEO of a tax firm that previously served for a decade as the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector.

He said moving forward would save homeowners nearly $800 per year, depending on the appraised value of their home. 

It's a legislative bill that each of the 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the Senate have signed on to, offering bipartisan support.

But for those homeowners who are older than 65, or disabled, it goes even further, increasing their total exemption to over $100,000.

“I never thought, lieutenant governor, I’d ever be talking about a set of bills that would save an over-65 homestead owner over $1,000 per year," he said. "It’s an astonishing number."

Lawmakers said they would also use more than $5 billion to send to school districts across the state to help lower school tax rates.

The proposed cuts would provide little relief to those who are renters, a group that makes up nearly 40 percent of all households across the state. 

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