Austin, Texas - Senate Bill 1449, authored by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), and sponsored by Representative Jim Murphy (R-Houston) passed the House 144-1-1 to bring property tax relief to small businesses around the state, an very important piece of the Texas Economy. This bill increases the exemption amount for business personal property from $500 to $2,500, as the limit has not been adjusted since 1995, over 26 years ago! The bill passed unanimously in the Texas Senate with bipartisan support from joint-authors Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), Senator Kelly Hancock (R- North Richland Hills), Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D-McAllen) Senator Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas), Senator Angela Paxton (R- McKinney) and co-authored by Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) and Senator Drew Springer (R-Muenster) .

"This bill will save time and money for both businesses and government!” Senator Bettencourt said. "It's a win-win for both Taxpayers and taxing units," he continued. "And especially for small businesses to keep $50 in their pocket and get back hours of their time." he added.

Under current law, taxpayers with less than $500 of business personal property do not have to pay taxes on the property. SB 1449 raises the exemption to $2,500 to reflect that the cost of appraising and assessing taxes on a business' tangible personal property worth less than $2,500 is greater than the revenue received on the property. "This allows appraisal districts and tax assessors to put their resources to better use in other areas and not waste time trying to collect on small businesses," Bettencourt added.

"This is a recognition of the obvious. The cost of collecting property taxes under a certain amount exceeds the amount of revenue collected by those taxes anyways," said Senator Bettencourt. "It will cut down compliance costs, reduce paperwork and allow small businesses to focus their efforts on their customers and not the Tax Man," he added.

Texas Taxpayers And Research Association (TTARA) and the Travis County Appraisal District testified the savings to everyone results from the offset due to not collecting taxes on these small businesses that are ultimately insufficient to cover the cost of collection.

“In the 21st century, we can recognize that saving time for small businesses and government is saving taxpayers money all around!” concluded Senator Bettencourt. SB 1449 updates the exemption to reflect the changing realities that face small businesses in the present, and into the future.

SB 1449 now heads to Governor Abbott's desk and if signed will go into effect January 1, 2022.

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