Have 10 Kids, Pay No Property Taxes: Texas State Lawmaker’s Bill Would Give Tax Breaks To Big Families

A Texas On Tuesday, a lawmaker introduced legislation to allow tax breaks for families who have multiple children.

Bryan Slaton, Republican Texas State Representative, introduced House Bill 2889 Tuesday. The bill would allow property tax deductions for married families with at least four children. If a family has ten children or more, the law would not apply to them. Slaton stated that the bill would encourage Texans to get married and stay married and raise large, healthy families.

The child must be the child of two married parents. Adoption of a child must occur after the parents marry. A stepchild can also qualify, but only if one of the parents is a widower. To be eligible, the couple must have been legally married and never divorced. For credit to be claimed, both the spouses must have documentation of their marriage and birth certificates.

The bill provides that a couple with four or more children is eligible to receive a 10% tax deduction on their property taxes. Couples who have four or more children can receive even greater tax deductions.

Couples with four children get a 40% deduction on their property taxes. Couples with five children get a 50% deduction. Couples with six children get a 60% deduction, 60% with seven children, 70% with eight children, 70% with eight children, 80% with nine children, 90% with ten children and 100% with ten.

Qualifying couples can claim the tax credit, regardless of whether the qualifying child lives in the same household as their parents or not. The credit is available to widows or widowers if one spouse dies in a qualifying couple.

“Supporting Texas means supporting Texas families,” Slaton made the statement in a statement, which was posted to Twitter Tuesday. “Strong families are the backbone and building blocks of society. We must support families by making it financially easier for them to have and raise children in a supportive and nurturing way.”

“With this bill, Texas will start saying to couples: ‘Get married, stay married, and be fruitful and multiply,'” He concluded.

In the press release, it also stated: “[m]any studies have shown that children tend to have enhanced ‘wellbeing and development,’ and tend to avoid developmental, academic, and behavioral problems when raised by both parents in a stable marriage. Falling birthrates also pose a potentially significant problem for the future as the age dependency ratio rises.”

In the release, it was also stated that Poland and Hungary have adopted similar pro-family policies which have helped reverse their declining birthrates.

Twitter was a favorite platform for Conservatives to praise the legislation.

“This is the type of legislative innovation we need in government across the board,” An activist group Bull Moose Project wrote. “Restoring the family is one positive step forward to restoring America. Fantastic bill, Rep. Slaton! Let us know how we can help. (And legislators who follow us, take note!) 👀”

“@BryanforHD2 has a visionary plan for orienting the Texas tax code on the basis of pro-family policy,” Tweet Gladden PappinSenior fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, Budapest, Hungary. “He cites Hungary🇭🇺 as an example—where the tax burden on families is also reduced as they grow. The encouragement of adoption is also near & dear to my heart!”

“Excellent and creative leadership from Rep. Slaton,” American Moment president Saurabh Sharma added.