“Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, who has written local legislation to end ‘immoral’ and ‘unethical’ property taxes, said that the predictions of sky-high sales taxes to make up for lost revenue were overstated… ‘They don’t want to upset cities, counties and school districts that are getting rich, hand over fist, taxing Texas citizens out of their homes’” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/red-state-republicans-next-promise-000728868.html
“House Bill 116, filed by Rep. Jay Dean, would replace school maintenance and operations taxes with a value-added tax rate of 6.72%… It would also require the state comptroller to determine whether VATs could replace remaining property taxes” https://tylerpaper.com/2025/08/12/state-rep-jay-deans-bill-would-impose-value-added-tax-eliminate-some-school-property-taxes-heres-what-to-know/
“Texas has no state income tax for all residents and workers, regardless of immigration status… No Texas state tax return is required, but federal tax filings with IRS Form 1040 remain mandatory” https://www.visaverge.com/taxes/texas-state-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-for-2025-explained/
The pitch is simple. No income tax. No property tax. Lower sales tax. Sounds like freedom. But the VAT is the catch. Quiet, regressive, and layered. You pay it on diapers, rent, and repairs. It’s not a tax break—it’s a tax shift.
No one is talking about what happens when counties lose their biggest funding stream. Schools, fire departments, water systems. If the VAT doesn’t cover it, there’s no backup.
Harrison calls it unethical. Dean wants a VAT. But the math doesn’t care about slogans. It cares about coverage. The VAT doesn’t cover the same ground.
“Despite attempts by state lawmakers to deliver property tax relief, Texans aren’t feeling the effects… their property valuations—and thus their tax bills—continue to climb” https://tylerpaper.com/2025/08/19/could-deans-value-added-tax-replace-property-taxes-heres-what-tax-policy-experts-say/
Texas already ditched income tax. Now it’s gutting property tax. That leaves consumption, which hits hardest where wallets are thinnest. The shift isn’t neutral. It’s weighted.
Kill the tax, lose the funding. Replace it with a tax no one sees. That’s not reform. That’s sleight of hand.
