Texas Constitutional Amendment Election, 2007 - Proposition 6

Proposition 6

Proposition 6 (H.J.R. No. 54) is the constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation one motor vehicle owned by an individual and used in the course of the owner’s occupation or profession and also for personal activities of the owner.

The measure passed 73.69 percent in favor to 26.31 percent against.

• Comments by supporters: The proposed amendment would remedy inconsistency in the taxation of personal motor vehicles also used for the production of income and allows the will of the legislature in enacting House Bill No. 809 in 2005 to have its desired effect. Because the motor vehicles affected by the proposed amendment were exempted from rendition for taxation by House Bill No. 809, most of those vehicles go untaxed. Current law allows an appraiser to harass a property owner by taxing motor vehicles that are exempt from rendition. It is clear that the legislature exempted these vehicles from rendition with the intent to exempt them from taxation. By limiting this exemption to one motor vehicle per individual owner, the proposed amendment allays concerns that a fleet of motor vehicles could be exempted from taxation by a person who uses each vehicle for personal use for a short time each year.

• Comments by opponents: The proposed constitutional amendment would exempt from taxation many motor vehicles used in the production of income by their owners. Exempting such commercial property from taxation runs counter to the long-standing public policy in Texas that all personal property used for the production of income, including motor vehicles, be taxed. A vehicle used predominantly for business should not be exempt merely because it is used for occasional personal purposes.