Huffines Announces Taxpayer First Project
The Project Seeks to Reform How Texas Collects Taxes Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced on August 181 a package of tax-administration reforms he is calling the Taxpayer First Project. The Comptroller’s office said the new policies, “collectively known as the...
National Debt Tops $40 Trillion
The United States crossed $40 trillion in total public debt on August 18, 2026.1 The Treasury’s Debt to the Penny series2 showed a whopping $40,047,425,768,420.22 that day, up from just under $40 trillion the day before. Out of that historic figure, $32.3 trillion is...
Your Property Tax Bill Is Being Decided Right Now
Every year, Texas taxpayers go through the same cycle.1 Appraisal districts certify property values, cities, counties, school districts and other taxing units build their proposed budgets, and then set the property tax rates that will determine how much revenue they...
Abbott and Huffines Launch Investigation of School Admin Bloat
Governor Abbott and newly-appointed Comptroller of Public Accounts Don Huffines are teaming up to investigate waste and admin bloat. Governor Greg Abbott has formally requested1 Texas Comptroller Don Huffines to investigate the finances of up to four independent...
AG Paxton Halts More Illegal City Tax Increases
Today, August 17th, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sent letters1 to more than 110 additional cities prohibiting them from raising ad valorem property taxes above the no-new-revenue (NNR) tax rate. The NNR rate is the property tax rate a local taxing entity...
Tarrant County on Track to Cut Property Taxes Again
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare1 gave preliminary approval Thursday, August 13th, to a Fiscal Year 2027 budget that sets the county rate at $0.1860 per $100 of valuation and the JPS Hospital District rate at $0.1590. Both sit below the no-new-revenue (NNR) rate, the...
Fort Worth’s Budget Shortfall Demands Spending Discipline, Not More Taxes
Fort Worth officials face a significant budget shortfall for fiscal year 2027 after certified property tax rolls came in lower than projected. The projected general fund gap rose from an earlier estimate of roughly $49 million to approximately $77–78 million1 once the...
Bastrop City Council Holds Official Workshop 100 Miles Away from their Constituents
On August 7th, the Bastrop City Council conducted official workshops1 not in Bastrop (where one might reasonably expect), but more than one hundred miles away in Fredericksburg. The posted agenda2 lists the location as the John Wm. Klein Meeting Room at 115 N....
Tax Cuts, Spending Restraint and Accountability: What’s in the New Texas GOP Platform
The Republican Party of Texas has released the official, delegate-approved 2026 Platform.1 After the June convention in Houston, the final document is now public. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility is pleased to report that every one of our primary policy initiatives,...