Outside the Box: This might shock newcomers to Texas: soaring property taxes

Texas is once again witnessing the largest population growth in the nation as people increasingly migrate to what they see as the fiscal promised land.

While greater job opportunities and certainly warmer (often ultra-hot) weather await, the impact on their pocketbooks in terms of taxes and fees may leave them wondering if they should search elsewhere for their sought-after kingdom of economic milk and honey.

Texas has no personal income tax a significant benefit compared to states like California, New York and New Jersey that have high income-tax rates. According to the Tax Foundation, the states total tax burden is the sixth-lowest in the nation.

However, for many new residents, including some retirees, the overall tax burden may not be much less than in the state they left. Thats because Texas state and local taxes fall disproportionally on lower-income individuals. That is, the lower a taxpayers income, the greater the percentage of income is paid in taxes. In fact, the state is currently ranked 46th in tax progressivity.

Texas tax regressivity is mainly the result of its heavy reliance on sales taxes in the absence of a state income tax. Texas has an average combined state and local sales tax of 8.20%, ranking it 14th among the states.

It also has the sixth-highest property taxes, after New Jersey, Illinois, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut, according to the Tax Foundation. Without income taxes to share with local governments, property taxes are not only high but have grown dramatically in recent years. For example, someone purchasing a home in Leander, the second-fastest-growing city in America that sits just outside Austin, at the median market price in Travis County of $632,208 would pay $14,150 in property taxes.