Public Information Office 210 S. McDonald Street Suite 626 McKinney, Texas 75069 www.collincountytx.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2005

Collin County Tax Assessor Collector seeks veto of tax collection bill

(McKinney, TX) – Collin County Tax Assessor Collector Kenneth Maun opposes a bill that would cut school tax collections in the state by over $45 million, and all entities by over $70 million, annually. He is now asking the governor to veto the bill.

Although CSHB 2438 cuts mobile home property taxes, Maun says about $30 to $40 million of these “tax savings” will end up in mobile home manufacturers’ and financiers’ pockets.

“I have sent a letter to Governor Rick Perry asking him to veto CSHB 2438. I have sent him the letter, I have faxed him the letter, I have e-mailed him the letter, and I have called his office. I want to make sure that he gets it, and understands it, and I can only hope that he will do something about it,” says Maun.

According to Maun, CSHB 2438 would change the property tax collection process for manufactured housing to the same inadequate, questionable system in use prior to 1999 and reduce collections on manufactured homes to lower pre-1999 levels. Counties in and around high-growth areas would suffer a significant loss of tax revenue. Collin County would lose an estimated $500,000 each fiscal year.

CSHB 2438 would make tax collection dependent on ownership transfers being recorded with a state agency. This bill would require that only complete, correctly identified tax liens be recorded with a state agency.

“The reality is in many instances the ownership of a manufactured home is not recorded by the buyers and sellers. The other reality is that when this law was in effect before, the agency said they could not read much of the data sent to them, and the liens were never recognized or recorded. This created tremendous lien enforcement and collection difficulties,” says Maun.

The current mobile home collections recognize the tax lien that is established under the Constitution as of January 1, of each year. It also requires that all taxes be paid before moving a mobile home. This allows taxing jurisdictions to collect the taxes even though change of ownership is not recorded with the state. This has proven to be the most effective tax collection tool with respect to collection of taxes on manufactured homes. CSHB 2438 eliminates this tool.

The Tax Assessor-Collectors Association opposed this bill, to the extent that it modified the tax collection process. An amendment that the association had supported was removed in conference committee prior to final passage of the bill.

“A former legislator who was representing the manufactured housing industry lobbied this bill. I believe that more than 40% of these uncollected taxes will be savings to the manufactured housing industry. The rest will just be uncollectible taxes for owners of mobile homes,” says Maun.

To make Governor Rick Perry understand that he should VETO CSHB 2438, contact his office at 1-800-252-9600, and e-mail him at www.governor.state.tx.us. He will sign or veto this bill by June 19.

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