Wednesday, the Republican Party of Texas announced the final list of 8 legislative priorities, approved by delegates to the state convention which took place last week. This announcement is notable for several reasons, chief among them being that the state legislature and every statewide office are currently controlled by Republicans, and have been for nearly…
Category: State
Abbott Signals Property Tax Cuts, What About Elimination?
In an interview with The Texan, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar indicated that it is possible Texas will have an estimated $30 billion account balance when the Texas Legislature reconvenes in January of 2023. In March, we reported that it was estimated to be near $25 billion. In response to the interview, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott…
Texas GOP State Convention Concluded, Here Is What Happened
Thousands of Republicans from across the state of Texas, descended into Houston last week to participate in crafting the platform for the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) among other party organizational items for the next two years. Elected delegates to the convention began arriving last Monday to participate in committee hearings and get the process…
In Recent Senate Finance Hearing, Taxpayers Told To Wait For Relief
In a recent Texas Senate Finance Committee Hearing, the subject of high property tax appraisals came up during a discussion on what should be done about the interim charge they were to consider related to property tax relief. The committee members acknowledged that many Texas homeowners are lamenting the massive increase in appraisals, acknowledging that…
Texas Home Appraisals Are At All Time Highs
2022 has been an unprecedented year on a number of fronts. Texas, like the rest of the nation, has experienced record inflation, record gas prices, and sky-high home appraisals. Why have home prices been so high? Is it just a result of inflation or are there other factors at play? According to a recent Forbes…
Introducing the Texas Prosperity Plan
At Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR), we hear from Texans every day, impacted by the rising costs of living, rising property tax burdens, and general dismay towards a government that seems to represent their own interests less and less. For too long, those who care about fiscal sanity and ensuring the prosperity of future generations of…
Senate Finance Committee Shows Hand Again On Property Tax Relief
Monday, the Senate Committee on Finance met to discuss their interim charge related to property tax relief. They had the usual suspects show up as invited testimony: The Comptroller’s office and the Legislative Budget Board among others to discuss the possibility of getting property tax relief to millions of Texans drowning in growing tax burdens…
New Report Shows the Increased Debt Burdens on Texas Taxpayers in Largest Cities
Recently, Truth in Accounting published their latest Combined City Taxpayer Report of the 10 most populated cities in the United States and the debt burdens put on each of their taxpayers. The report attempts to measure the annual financial reports of each city combined with underlying entities and debt obligations that many times are not…
Recent Polling Suggests Property Taxpayer Confusion
Understanding Texas’ property taxes, or more specifically understanding the means by which property taxes are levied, collected, distributed, and ultimately who bears responsibility for the increasing property tax burden in the state is admittedly a confusing endeavor; potentially intentionally so. In a recent poll conducted by the UT Tyler and Dallas Morning News, Texans were…
No… We Don’t Have To Replace The Property Tax With Anything
In a year where most property owners find themselves getting overwhelmed with inflation driving up the costs of basic goods and services as well as major increases in property tax burdens, it has not been surprising to see millions of Texas taxpayers call for the complete elimination of property taxes this year. This is something…
Texas Legislative Races to Watch on Primary Runoff Election Day
In what seems like a perpetual election cycle, Texans find themselves yet again about to go to the polls to vote in the Runoff Election for the Republican and Democrat primaries, which took place in early March. Given the political disposition and history of many districts around the state, the winner of several of these…
Conflicting Messages Across the State for Local Bond Propositions
Saturday marked election day across the state for a whole host of ballot propositions, including over 200 bond proposals from various local governmental jurisdictions. A total of $18.5 billion of proposed spending was considered by Texas voters and after reviewing the results, it appears that many Texas taxpayers might find themselves confused over what many…
Property Tax Propositions Pass, But Will They Make a Difference?
Saturday, Texas voters took to the polls to consider two statewide constitutional propositions, local elected offices, and various bond proposals. As the results came in, there appeared to be some very promising news for conservatives, especially in school board elections where more conservative candidates swept candidates advocating for things like CRT and child grooming in…
Senators Showed More Interest In Giving Themselves Raises Than Property Tax Relief in Hearing
Wednesday, the Texas Senate Committee on Finance convened for the first time since the last special legislative session to consider interim charges related to the state budget. Among the issues discussed were things like inflation, Russia, and state pension reforms. This hearing was the first of which the new committee chairman, State Sen. Joan Huffman…
Majority of Highest Paid State Employees Work for Teacher Retirement System
Last week, the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported on the 15 highest-paid Texas state employees. They used data collected by The Texas Tribune as a part of their ‘Salaries Explorer’ obtained through information requests from the Texas State Comptroller. Curiously, 11 of the top 15 highest-paid state employees, are employed through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas…
10 Facts About Property Taxes In Texas
Property taxes are one of the most confusing systems that taxpayers are tasked with understanding in Texas. The system itself is purposely complicated, with lawmakers changing definitions and the state Tax Code nearly every two years, it is nearly impossible for the average taxpayer to keep up. Fortunately, there are some lawmakers attempting to make…
Biden Administration Floats Federal Student Loan Forgiveness
On Monday, President Biden met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where among other issues he mentioned that his administration is looking into options to forgive a substantial but unspecified amount of federal student loan debt. Earlier this month, the Biden Administration extended the moratorium on federal student loan payments through the end of…
Fiscal Conservatives Start From Wrong Premise on State Spending
Ask yourself, do you believe the government is too big already? More often than not the answer we get at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) as we travel around the state, visiting with Texas taxpayers, is a resounding yes! Despite this, for years now, the Texas Legislature has appropriated more money to fund state government…
They Shout Relief, But Where Is It?
Despite years of desperate cries from Texas taxpayers seeking significant property tax relief, Texans are once again being reminded that our lawmakers have no real desire to help lower our property tax bills. With stories of many Texas taxpayers experiencing as high as 120% increases in purported property values, Texans are realizing the current system…
Inflation Hits a 40 Year High… Again
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released Tuesday reveals that year-over-year inflation for the month of March hit 8.5%. This was a 1.2% increase from the previous month of February. Inflation has become a major problem for most Americans and unfortunately, it does not seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. The…