After Governor Abbott added property tax relief to the special agenda items list, property tax relief has once again taken center stage in the current special session. The only bill that has made any movement is SB 1 by Senator…

Recently the groundswell of conservative voices demanding property tax elimination has reached all-time highs. The last two special sessions have not delivered the results for property tax relief that taxpayers have demanded. Property taxes have risen more than 181% in…

Recently Governor Abbott tweeted that among other conservative legislation, the Texas legislature just passed property tax relief. This should be cause for celebration! We finally got what we have spent years begging our elected officials for! We are finally going…

With only six days left in the second called special session real property tax relief is being lowered into a shallow grave. HB 122, the strongest legislation that the Texas House has seen in years, seeks to apply 90% of…

At TFR we have been sounding the alarm that now is the time for property tax reform for months. We have put forth a practical and attainable plan to accomplish this. This message has resounded with grassroots and even other…

There seems to be a common pattern in Texas politics when it comes to local governments. Whether it is increasing property taxes, subsidizing businesses, imposing mask mandates, or defunding the police, local governments seem at odds not only with the…

We hear it over and over anytime a conversation about property taxes comes up. “If we have to pay property taxes, do we really own our property?” The assumption is correct, if you are bound to pay the government property…

For years, the desire for property tax relief has been at the top of Texans’ concerns. As a matter of fact, in a recent poll conducted by our friends at Texas Public Policy Foundation, it was revealed that 71% of…

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…

Quickly moving through the Texas Senate is a bill sold as a measure to protect businesses and healthcare providers from liability during the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic, but if implemented would likely accomplish the inverse of what is intended. Authored by…

Following the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 1, the state budget, in the Texas Senate, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility president Cary Cheshire issued the following statement: “The Texas Senate’s budget provides only a modest increase in total state spending below…

A lesser-known handout from taxpayers to private entities are local Hotel Occupancy Taxes, which are collected and allocated for the promotion of “tourism and the convention and hotel industry.” Cities may levy up to a seven percent tax on hotel bills,…

As conservatives know, government is an inherently greedy beast. It seizes every opportunity to grow and, in the words of Democrat Rahm Emanuel, it “never lets a good crisis go to waste.” However, in combating the natural trend of bureaucracy to…

State lawmakers should repeal the property tax levied on business personal property and inventory. Only eleven states other than Texas levy such a tax. Texas’ onerous property tax system requires that businesses pay taxes on both the land it occupies and its assets—including the inventory…

Following Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that he would be ending his statewide mandatory mask order next week, we at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility asked our subscribers and supporters how they would react to businesses requiring masks. Over a thousand Texans…