Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Democrat's Tax Reduction Attempts of 2012: Houston Edition

by

Yvonne Larsen
Yvonne Larsen

A Harris County Precinct Chair, Texas State Senator, Big City Mayor and Congressional Representative have attempted to reduce their individual tax burden while publicly championing “fair share” tax increases for Texas  families and small businesses.  These “tax reductions for me, but not for thee” hypocrites support tax increases for everyone else, but made an effort in 2012 to mitigate the impact of rising taxes on themselves.

The  #4 “tax reductions for me but not for thee” honor goes to this Harris County Democrat Precinct Chair. Charles gnashed his teeth in 2011, bemoaning school funding cuts, yet in the 2012 tax year sought to protest the value of his Houston home. Protesting the value of his home would, ironically reduce his school tax burden. An informal hearing was scheduled for June 14th, 2012.

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Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis receives the #3 prize for penning this April 16th, 2012 Houston Chronicle opinion piece. While publicly grumbling about perks, tax breaks and loopholes for the “wealthy”, State Senator Ellis also filed a protest notice with the Harris County Appraisal District to reduce his school & property tax burden. (Note the “Protest Received” entry below:

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Houston Mayor Annise Parker takes home the # 2 award for Democrat tax reduction hypocrisy. How many taxes, most notably the “Rain Tax” have been implemented under her regime? In 2012, Mayor Parker also, yep you guessed it), sought to protest the value of commercial real estate she & Katherine Hubbard own in Montrose. An informal hearing was scheduled for May 25th, 2012:

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But the 2012 trophy goes to my favorite Congressional Representative Sheila Jackson Lee. Not only did she and husband Elwyn file a protest to lower the 2012 taxes on their Third Ward home (note the “Protest Received” entry:

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but they both continue to reduce their current income tax burden by contributing earnings to a tax sheltered 403b plan (page 8).

While all these (oh, what was that phrase Rodney Ellis used?)… LOOPHOLES… are legitimate mechanisms to reduce ones tax burden, the double-standard and deceitful class warfare rhetoric exhibited by these elected officials must be called out and pushed back against in 2013 like never before.