Corporate Welfare

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 12: BONUS EPISODE: Texas State Representative Jeff Cason

Episode Description πŸ’° In this bonus episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we talk with outgoing Republican Texas State Representative Jeff Cason about fiscal issues facing Texas including the property tax and the appetite in the Texas Legislature to address them, his…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 10: BONUS EPISODE: Bill Peacock, Host of The Liberty Cafe Podcast

Episode Description πŸ’° In this bonus episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we talk with Bill Peacock, host of The Liberty Cafe Podcast and curator of ExcellentThought.net about fiscal issues facing Texas including what changes, if any could benefit the state budgeting…

Commentary

Texas Taxpayers Do Not Support Continued Corporate Welfare

Following a recent interim hearing of the Texas House Ways & Means Committee where they discussed several issues important to Texas taxpayers (including the potential revitalization of Chapter 313 tax abatements), we surveyed subscribers to The Fiscal Note about whether…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 7: Political Activism, Deceptive Cities, and Chapter 313 Tax Abatements

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss political activism in fiscal policy, deceptive cities raising taxes, and chapter 313 tax abatements.   Articles Referenced The Importance of Political Activism in Fiscal Policy (9.26.2022) Fort Worth Slaps…

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…