Longtime McKinney residents say they're being taxed right out of their homes.
Home sale prices in Collin County have been on a rapid rise for well over a decade now. The average cost of a home in McKinney is now being appraised for well over $350,000 — a price tag many homeowners say has them looking to move out of town.
Siotha Vest and Tracy Thomas say they've had enough. They say they're frustrated with eight to 10-percent increases in their home appraisal values every year. They are hoping a proposal to cap the taxes will help ease what's become a financial burden on their families.
"We're getting priced out of the market for families with kids, families with disability, elderly people, folks that are retiring, all of those people will be taxed out of the market," said Vest.
"It's been heartbreaking lately to see all of these post and social forums of people that are locals that live here, and are having to pick up and move because they can no longer to pay their property taxes,” said Thomas. "This gouging of current residents, we can't take the burden anymore."
Thomas said in a period of three years, the value of her home went from about $265,000 to more than $330,000. That's a 12-percent increase in her home's value.
Both residents say they're not against taxes or growth in Collin county; they're just asking for fair taxes on their properties.
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Bo Daffin, the chief appraiser with the Collin County appraisal district, explained the tax code is what guides the appraisal process.
“Each year, we appraise property at market value, we send appraisals notices out in April, and then there's a protest process through the summer,” Daffin said. He added that more than 60,000 property tax protests were filed in Collin county in 2017 alone.
As far as a tax cap proposal, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced a plan that would put a 2.5 percent annual cap on how much property tax revenue can grow. Any increase beyond that would require an election and approval by two-thirds of local voters.
The governor called the cap a system to "protect Texans from excessive increases in their tax bills."
