Commissioners to discuss tax rates

GONZALES — During a special-called commissioners court meeting on Aug. 7, Gonzales County Tax Assessor-Collector Crystal Cedillo presented the effective, rollback and sales tax rate collections for 2017.

Cedillo explained that the effective tax rate enables the public to evaluate the relationship between taxes for the prior year and for the current year, based on a tax rate that would produce the same amount of taxes if applied to the same properties taxed in both years.

“Although the actual calculation can become more complicated, a taxing unit's effective tax rate is a calculated rate generally equal to the last year's taxes divided by the current taxable value of properties that were also on the tax roll last year,” Cedillo said.

The resulting tax rate, used for comparison only, shows the relation between the last year's revenue and the current year's values.

The rollback tax rate is a calculated maximum rate allowed by law without voter approval. Most taxing units calculate a rollback tax rate that divides the overall property taxes into two categories - M&O (Maintenance and Operations) and I&S (Interest and Sinking).

“With the exception of school districts, the rollback tax rate provides the taxing unit with about the same amount of tax revenue it spent the previous year for day-to-day operations, plus an extra eight percent increase for operations and sufficient funds to pay debts in the coming year,” Cedillo noted.

School districts add four cents to the lesser of the compressed operating tax rate or the effective M&O rate to get their highest M&O rate. They then add the debt rate to get the final rollback tax rate. To calculate the effective M&O rate, school districts should consult the Texas Education Agency.

A taxing unit, other than a school district, that adopts a tax rate over the rollback rate is subject to a petition process that could result in a rollback election $100,000 value.

Cedillo said this year’s rollback rate of 0.5237 would consist of 0.5144 for M&O and 0.0093 for I&S and would produce the following levies for 2017:

M&O 0.5144 - $13,660.508

I&S 0.0097 - $246,973

This year’s effective tax rate of 0.4785 would consist of 0.4692 for M&O and I&S and would produce the following levies for 2017:

M&O 0.4785 - $12,707,141

I&S 0.0093 - $246,973

Commissioners will discuss the rates during their Monday, Aug. 14 meeting.