Corporate Welfare

Explainers

Explainer: What Are 313 Tax Abatements?

A topic that has become more popular recently due to Speaker Dade Phelan’s support for their renewal is Chapter 313 tax abatements. However, when interacting with taxpayers, I have noticed that most people have no clue about the controversial program….

NewsState

House Committees Met on Issues Important to Texas Taxpayers

On Thursday, both the Texas House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees held interim public hearings in preparation for the upcoming legislative session set to begin in January of 2023. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility was there in person to help…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 4: Special Episode from the Texas Capitol

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss observations from Texas House Appropriations and Ways & Means Committee hearings that took place Thursday where they discussed things like property tax, appraisal reform, corporate welfare, and state spending. We…

News

Upcoming Opportunity for Texas Taxpayers to Opine on Growing Property Tax Problem

As state lawmakers prepare for the 2023 legislative session in the coming weeks, Texas taxpayers have an opportunity to address them on issues like their ever-increasing property tax burdens.   Texas House Ways & Means Committee The Texas House Ways…

News

House Speaker Wants to Renew Controversial Corporate Welfare Program

Last week, Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan made headlines for his comments at the West Texas Legislative Summit in San Angelo, Texas, where he indicated that the House will take a β€œlong, hard look” in the next legislative session…

Commentary

Fighting Woke Corporatism

It’s difficult to be a conservative in today’s society and not notice the clear bias held by many large corporations that have injected themselves into the political realm. These entities almost always lean left and have aided in silencing and…

News

Texas House Interim Charges Released – Missing Major Priorities

Last week, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), released his list of interim charges to all House committees. Every legislative cycle, the leaders of each respective legislative chamber issue interim charges for each committee to study in preparation for the…

Commentary

Spotlight on the 87th: Subsidies for Wind and Solar

In today’s Spotlight on the 87th Legislative Session, we look back on legislation that protected subsidies for unreliable wind and solar energy. House Bill 1607 was authored by State Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) and was passed out of the…

Commentary

Spotlight on the 87th: Music Venue Subsidies

In today’s Spotlight on the 87th Legislative Session, we look back at Senate Bill 609, authored by State Sen. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston). SB 609 created a new corporate welfare program for music venues by creating the Texas Music Incubator program…

News

Potential Resurrection of Additional Corporate Welfare in the Works

On Wednesday, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) took to Twitter to talk about a speech he gave at the annual Ad Valorem Tax Conference hosted by the Texas Oil and Gas Association in San Antonio. Among the issues he…

Explainers

Explainer: What Is The Texas Enterprise Fund?

One of many government programs that many Texans have no clue exists is the Texas Enterprise Fund. Millions of tax dollars are distributed from this program, yet it never receives much attention from the public. The program is administered via…

Commentary

TFR Statement on State Budget

Following the Texas Senate’s passage of the conference committee report on the state budget, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility president Cary Cheshire issued the following statement: Texas lawmakers have passed a budget that does not deliver substantial property tax relief. Instead…

Explainers

Explainer: The Texas Blackout: What Happened? How do we fix it?

Following the disastrous Texas blackout in February 2021, TFR created the following video explaining part of the problem and potential solutions to safeguarding the life, liberty, and property of everyday Texans.   While further reforms are most assuredly needed, action…

Commentary

Eliminate 312 Tax Abatements, Lower Tax Rates Instead

Originally implemented in 2001, property tax abatements have exploded as local governments across Texas compete with each other in an endless cycle of targeted giveaways to big business.Β The time to end this unfair, costly, and crony practice has come. Defined…

News

Texans to Pay Out Tax Abatements for 41 More Wind and Solar Plants in 2021

As extreme cold batters the Lone Star State and power failures leave millions huddling for warmth in their homes, dealing with broken pipes, and rendering many roads unnavigable, many Texans are looking to the latest from ERCOT or the weather…