Focus Report, Volume 85, Number 6, September 2017 Page: Page5
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Homestead exemption for partially
donated homes of disabled veterans
HJR 21 by Bell (Creighton)Background
Supporters say
Texas Constitution, Art. 8, sec. 1-b establishes
exemptions from taxation on part of the market value
of a residence homestead, thereby lowering the total
property tax levied on a home if the tax rate stays the
same.
Subsection (1) allows the Legislature to provide a
partial homestead exemption for a partially disabled
veteran if that homestead was donated by a charitable
organization at no cost to the disabled veteran. The
amount of the exemption is the percentage of the value
of the home equal to the percentage of disability of
the veteran. Tax Code, sec. 11.132 uses the authority
granted by that constitutional provision to create the
exemption.
Digest
Proposition 1 would amend Texas Constitution,
Art. 8, sec. 1-b(l) to allow the Legislature to provide
a partially disabled veteran a partial property tax
exemption on a homestead that was donated at some
cost to the veteran, in addition to those that were
donated at no cost, as long as the homestead was
donated for less than its market value.
The ballot proposal reads: 'The constitutional
amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for
an exemption from ad valorem taxation of part of the
market value of the residence homestead of a partially
disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a partially
disabled veteran if the residence homestead was donated
to the disabled veteran by a charitable organization for
less than the market value of the residence homestead
and harmonizing certain related provisions of the Texas
Constitution.Proposition 1 would fix an unintended consequence
of current law that increases the financial burden on a
partially disabled veteran who paid some amount of
the cost of a donated home. Unlike a partially disabled
veteran whose home is donated in full, a veteran who
paid part of the cost of a donated home cannot receive
the property tax exemption created by Tax Code, sec.
11.132. This can lead to an unanticipated property
tax burden that the veteran may not have the income
to offset. Veterans in this situation can be at risk of
losing a donated home to unpaid property taxes, even
if that home was built or renovated specifically for the
individual with features such as wheelchair accessibility.
Veterans have made considerable sacrifices for the
nation and the state, and the Legislature should afford
them certain benefits and attempt to address injustices
when it finds them. No disabled veteran should be
at risk, due to an ongoing, unaffordable property tax
burden, of losing a home that is specifically donated
to accommodate the veteran's needs. In this spirit,
Proposition 1 would clarify the intent of existing
law and provide the same well-earned property tax
exemption to a greater number of partially disabled
veterans who receive donated homes.
Opponents say
Proposition 1 would continue a pattern of giving
tax exemptions to specialized groups, when instead
the Legislature should focus its efforts on reducing the
aggregate property tax burden. Exempting a specific
category of people, regardless of how deserving they
may be, erodes the tax base and results in an increased
tax burden on other homeowners.House Research Organization Page 5
House Research Organization
Page 5
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Research Organization. Focus Report, Volume 85, Number 6, September 2017, periodical, September 7, 2017; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1033148/m1/5/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.