Tax Reform

Gov. Perry is a strong advocate for lower taxes and fiscal responsibility in government spending. He has helped eliminate more than a dozen state agencies, boards and commissions to save taxpayers’ dollars, and ordered government agencies to increase efforts to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. In 2003, Perry insisted that government reduce spending to overcome a record $10 billion budget shortfall instead of raising taxes. Perry signed a budget that year that reduced state spending for the first time since World War II. The Wall Street Journal called Perry's successful efforts "heroic."
Learn about the Perry–Sharp Property Tax Relief and School Finance Plan

Lower Property Taxes

Gov. Perry wants to significantly reduce property taxes to encourage homeownership and job creation. As Lt. Governor in 1999, he helped pass a record $2 billion property tax cut for Texas homeowners. In 2005 he worked to pass the largest property tax cut in Texas history - more than $7 billion - but lawmakers did not act. The governor is continuing to encourage lawmakers to agree on a property tax cut plan that will give taxpayers the relief they deserve.
Texas Task Force on Appraisal Reform Webpage

Taxpayer Protection

Gov. Perry supports a tighter cap on how fast home values can increase for tax calculation purposes. Currently, local appraisers can raise a home's taxable value by 10 percent each year. At that rate, a family's property tax bill can double in less than 10 years, even if their tax rate stays the same. Though the legislature chose not to provide taxpayers with this needed protection in the 2005 session, the governor will continue to push for a lower appraisal cap so that Texas families aren't priced out of their homes. Perry also supports a Truth in Spending initiative that provides taxpayers with detailed information about how local school districts are spending their property tax dollars, and a Truth in Taxation initiative that makes it easier for citizens to roll-back tax increases passed at the local level.

Reducing Wasteful Spending

Gov. Perry has used his constitutional line-item veto authority to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in wasteful spending from the state budget. Perry supports comprehensive budget reform that would bring greater transparency and accountability to the legislature's budgeting process. Historically, lawmakers often bury wasteful spending in larger, necessary expenditures to prevent a governor from exercising the line item veto. Perry wants reforms that will allow taxpayers to clearly see how their money is being spent make it easier for the executive branch to ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely.