AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers have finalized $3.8 billion in tax cuts in a deal struck a week before the end of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s first legislative session.
Abbott announced late Thursday an agreement on the biggest Texas tax cuts in a decade. He called it “meaningful” tax relief that will stimulate the economy.
But the deal isn’t as robust as Abbott and other Texas GOP leaders spent months promising. Nearly $1 billion was shaved off earlier Republican proposals amid concerns over a downturn in the oil and gas industry and recent statewide job losses.
Texas homeowners would save roughly $120 a year on property taxes under the deal that voters must still approve in November. Even some Republicans have conceded those savings are likely to be swallowed by rising home appraisals.