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There are a few points to consider. First, the property tax does not fund anything at the state level, just at local levels. It is the primary means of financing schools, city and county governments, and most of the special service districts (hospital districts, crime districts, utility districts, etc.). So, any change in property tax MUST include how you will fix school finance.

And second, to give you and idea of what is involved, 47% of all taxes raised in Texas at the state or lower levels comes from property tax. That includes money from the sales tax, entertainment taxes, franchise taxes, excise taxes, severance taxes, etc.

So, figure that a sales tax would have to more than double to keep the same income level. Of course, the level could be slightly lowered by adding more things to the sales tax. Or we could use a state income tax to replace it. And yes, there are some services we might be able to cut, but I don't think we would agree on them any more than we would agree on how to replace the tax.

I do not see the property tax as the worst possible tax, even though I hate the idea of renting property from the state. I do like flat taxes, so I think we could improve the tax by doing away with all exemptions and breaks on it.

Of course, my proposal for fixing school funding is to do away with school district taxing authority and go to one statewide property tax dedicated to school funding. Decide how much is needed per student, how many students there are, and how much property there is. That gives you a uniform tax rate for across the state. Then it gets divided to the school districts based on how many students they have.