patrick.net

C Boy says

Texans are allowed to deduct the State sales tax paid for the year from their Federal taxes(whether or not you own or rent). You may either use a standard amount or if you bought a large ticket item (car) actual amount paid.

Sure, but that's not nearly as much unless you're a big consumer. If you're one of the people who buys a new car frequently enough that this makes a difference, then you can probably afford losing the deduction too. Even if you made $4000/month in consumer spending (which implies you earn quite a bit, since that would exclude rent and utilities, various services, and any number of other things that aren't subject to sales tax), with the highest possible sales tax of 8.25%, that only totals around $4000/year in sales tax to deduct. And Texas excludes groceries and medicine from sales tax, has sales tax holidays for clothes items under $100, and cars are taxed at 6.25% only (no local/county). It doesn't boost things into the stated range unless you are very well off.

drew_eckhardt says

Being nice to current mortgagees and bad for future buyers is just a side effect of funneling money which would be paid as taxes into the banking and real-estate industries and getting agents' a bigger share of the housing buy.

Yes, it's a handout largely to banksters and realtors. For everyone else, housing prices just rise to compensate. They have better lobbyists than us other folk.