Feeding the Gluttony Beast

Property Taxes

By Alfredo Sanchez

April 10, 2015

There are many myths propagated by little or no evidence.  On television there is a program devoted to busting myths.  It is called Myth Busters.   In this article we will bust the myth that American citizens are subsidizing undocumented immigrant children’s education.

There is a saying that there are two sure things in life, death and taxes.   We pay taxes on items we purchase such as, furniture, automobiles, clothes, food, homes, gas, etc.   No consumer is exempt from paying taxes. 

It is a contentious issue among some American citizens that undocumented immigrant children are attending school at the expense of their tax dollars.    Where does school funding come from?   A large part of school funding is derived from property taxes.  Let’s first discuss property owners living on their property.  As a property owner living on your property in Texas you are eligible for a homestead exemption.  In order to be eligible for this homestead exemption a drivers’ license or a Texas identification card must be provided with the current address of the property where the homestead exemption will be filed.  The homestead exemption reduces the tax burden on the property owner. In the city of Denton, it reduces the tax burden by $267. The key to obtaining this homestead exemption is that home owners have the proper identification.   Undocumented immigrants that own their homes do not have access to either a driver’s license or a Texas Identification card.  Therefore undocumented immigrants are not eligible for the $267 homestead tax exemption. This means that the undocumented immigrant who owns a home pays more property taxes than the American citizen on the same valued property.

Some would argue that many undocumented immigrants do not own their own property, they rent therefore they do not pay property taxes. Rental property is not eligible for the homestead tax exemption because the property owner is not living on the premises.  Therefore landlords are not eligible for the $267 Homestead Tax exemption that is made available to owner occupied properties.   So who pays the property tax on rental property?  The tenant pays the property tax in an indirect way.  A landlord when considering what he will charge for rent considers property taxes, insurance, mortgage, repairs and profits.   Since the Homestead exemption does not apply to landlords, landlords are forced to pass a large tax burden to their tenants.   Therefore tenants will pay higher taxes than owner occupied property of similar value.  In a city like Denton, which has a very high rental base, which includes many undocumented immigrants a high percentage of property taxes are paid by undocumented immigrants and the poor who live from pay check to pay check. 

So, the next time someone says their tax dollars are educating immigrant children, remind him/her that undocumented immigrants also pay property taxes and at a higher rate, than American citizens, on property of similar value.