Texas Prosperity Plan
Dismal Legislative Session for Texas Taxpayers
The 88th Texas Legislative Session has come and gone. State lawmakers were faced with a historic budget surplus (over-collected taxpayer dollars) and a historic opportunity to provide Texas taxpayers with much-needed tax relief and a promise for future prosperity. Instead,…
Episode 6: Varying Approaches to Property Tax Relief in Texas Legislature
Episode Description 💰 In our sixth episode of 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗔𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗, we are joined by special guest Vance Ginn, Ph.D. and discuss the varying approaches to property tax relief making their way through the legislative process in both the Texas…
Appraisal Caps Overwhelmingly Rejected in HB 2 House Hearing
On Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee laid out House Bill 2, the House leadership’s property tax relief package. The legislation is authored by the chairman of the committee State Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas/Career Fiscal Index “F”). The legislation…
Legislation Seeking to Ban Taxpayer-funded Lobbying Gets Hearing in Senate
On Monday, the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee considered legislation seeking to ban the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying statewide. Though the legislation was left pending, it is likely to be passed out of committee and considered by the overall Senate…
Despite Promised Relief, Property Taxes Jumped 12.2% in 2022
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) recently published a new report revealing the abysmal numbers related to property tax levies released by the Texas comptroller’s office. The major takeaway? The Texas Legislature continues to trumpet their “historic tax reform” package from…
Episode 4: Bill Filing Deadline Looms. Where Does That Leave Texas Taxpayers?
Episode Description 💰 In our fourth episode of 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗔𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗, we are joined by Bill Peacock, host of The Liberty Cafe Podcast, and Vance Ginn, Ph.D. to discuss the pro-taxpayer legislation that was filed ahead of the bill filing…
Texas Freedom Caucus Releases Legislative Priorities
In a press conference in the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, the Texas Freedom Caucus released its legislative priorities for the 88th Legislative Session. For readers who might not know, the Texas Freedom Caucus is a group of conservative lawmakers (in…
Episode 5: Will They Get to Work on Behalf of Texas Taxpayers?
Episode Description 💰 In this episode of 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗦, we discuss the recently announced Texas House Committee assignments and their potential implications for Texas taxpayers. We also talk about the recently announced legislative priorities for the Texas Freedom Caucus, as…
TFR Statement on Appropriation Bills
Today, both the Texas House and Senate have released their budgets. Both the House and Senate appropriation bills provide $15B for property tax relief, with $12B to compress Maintenance & Operations rates by 7.75% and $3B to increase the homestead…
Our Top 5 Articles of 2022
As 2022 comes to a close and we ramp up our efforts in preparation for all that 2023 brings, which includes the Texas 88th Legislative Session, we thought it might be prudent to summarize our top five pieces of written…
Taxpayer Champion Seeks to Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying for the Third Time
On Monday, the first day by which Texas state lawmakers could prefile legislation ahead of the 88th Legislative Session, newly elected State Senator-elect Mayes Middleton filed legislation seeking to ban the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying. Middleton, himself a TFR Taxpayer…
Recent Report Shows Texas’ Abysmal Record on Property Taxes
Recently, the Huffines Liberty Foundation released a report entitled “Texas Property Taxes: A State-to-State Comparison.” As the first in a three-part series, the report itself claims to be a road map to abolish property taxes in Texas, something the majority…
Cities Using Loophole to Raise Taxes Without Approval Elections
Many taxpayers have reached out to us regarding cities and other local political subdivisions raising taxes beyond their voter approval thresholds without triggering an election. Many have wondered how this is possible after the supposed “historic property tax reform” of…
In Debate, Abbott Says He Will Eliminate School Property Taxes
Last Friday, Texas taxpayers had a chance to watch the one and only debate between former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D) and incumbent Governor Greg Abbott (R) before the November general election. The two addressed several issues important to Texans,…
Fort Worth Slaps Taxpayers in the Face, Raises Taxes
It happened again: yet another deceptive tax increase by a major city. Last night, Fort Worth officially adopted its new tax rate of 71.25. This comes despite opposition from the public and two city council members dissenting to the tax…