Courtesy of Mish.
“It’s Your Money”
Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts says “Texas, It’s Your Money”.
At the Comptroller’s office, we’ve long championed the importance of transparency — giving the Texans we serve the information they need to make informed decisions and hold their government officials accountable.
That’s why our office launched the Texas, It’s Your Money series of reports, which spotlights issues that hit Texans in their wallets: local taxes, government debt, education debt and public pension obligations. We’re committed to keeping the state’s books open, accessible and understandable for our citizens.
A Roadmap to Better
With that introduction lets dig deeper into one of the reports “A Roadmap to Better“
click on any chart for sharper image
Sales Taxes and Property Taxes
Since 1993, special purpose districts that levy sales tax have increased by more than 1,900 percent, which means that more entities are taxing you. In that same time period, the number of special purpose districts that levy property tax has grown by more than 45 percent, with the creation of more than 500 new districts of this type.
While local sales taxes increased by almost 170 percent from 1993 to 2011, property taxes grew by 188 percent from 1992 to 2010. Compare that to slightly more than 120 percent growth in combined population and inflation during those years.
Local Obligations
Our local governments more than doubled their debt load in the last decade, amassing more than $7,500 in debt for every man, woman and child in the state. Between 2001 and 2011, the outstanding debt of Texas local governments rose more than twice as fast as inflation and population growth rates combined.
Total Local Outstanding Debt…
