If you've ever been to Hitchcock, which is situated in the shadows of Texas City and its effusive refineries, despite the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, you might be forgiven for not having thought you were in Palm Beach. Hitchcock may not seem like a ritzy...
The San Antonio Express-News reports that many small business owners around the state are facing huge bills due under the new state gross receipts tax which starts in 2007, with the first payment to the state due by May 2008. The article notes that many firms are...
The Texas Department of Agriculture will this Sunday serve up a heain’ helpin’ of taxpayer dollars as the chief sponsor of an artsy “wine dinner” in Austin. Were you invited? Me, either… The event benefits the Texas Wine & Food...
A report issued by the Office of the Inspector General at the Texas Education Agency has shed light on a contracting process ripe for fraud and abuse. It is alleged that individuals received large subcontracts from one of the Education Service Centers, divisions of...
From the “Oh, What a Big Surprise Department,” comes news that spending billions of taxpayer dollars on “nutrition education” has been a failure. The Associated Press article makes it clear that about the only thing accomplished was making kids...
According to a Dallas Business Journal article , the owners of several Dallas-area shopping centers, including Highland Park Village and Preston Trail Plaza, are suing the Dallas Central Appraisal District and the Dallas Appraisal Review Board, saying the method the...
Besides just bad philosophy, one of the worst contributors to government growth is our misplaced emphasis on defining success by activity. When you stand on the plains and look to the horizon, a great cloud of dust can be either an army purposefully on the move, or a...
Found this revealing tidbit on the Austin American-Statesman's entertainment pages: Those hotel occupancy taxes in Texas’ big cities are so high they’ll give you a nosebleed. Example: My $279 stay at the lovely Granduca Hotel in Houston a few days ago...
In signing two pieces of legislation today, Texas Governor Rick Perry and the Legislature delivered on two elements of the sound fiscal agenda promoted by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and supported by thousands of voters and taxpayers. The governor today announced...
Just how did the legislative session go? We’ll be releasing a full legislative score card soon, but overall, this legislative session was a bust. The cumulative score of all members of the Texas House and Texas Senate, on fiscal issues, was an abysmal 52%. Meaning?...
It was 20 years ago today, on June 12, 1987, that Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate, in West Berlin, and uttered perhaps the most important words of the 20th Century. He said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! … Yes, across Europe, this wall...
On the website, in e-mails, and recent speeches, TFR hasn’t been bashful about calling out the Tax-and-Spenders infesting the Republican Party’s legislative delegation. By their actions (stopping additional tax relief, preventing tax reform, sponsoring tax hikes,...
Sitting in the back of the Laredo auditorium on Wednesday night, I was struck by the level of frustration. These were hard-working folks I was listening to, most arrived in pick-ups and older cars; none belonged to a country club. The event was a free training...
She’s no lazy Susan. Comptroller Susan Combs has gotten a head start on implementing House Bill 3430 requiring all state agencies to post their expenditures online. The Comptroller’s newly unveiled site reveals expenditures for nearly 200 agencies and...
I had the pleasure of sharing a podium last night with Robin Armstrong, vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party. We were speaking at an event in Horseshoe Bay (Llano County). A practicing physcian (and a fellow graduate of Texas A&M), Robin has risen quickly...
State Rep. Jim Pitts should be ashamed of his bald-faced hypocrisy. Jim Pitts is saying tonight that he is voting against the budget on the grounds that it represents an irresponsible jump in state spending, and criticizes it for being laden with pork. This begs a...
For Texas taxpayers, the record of State Rep. Fred Hill (R-Richardson) adds up to higher taxes. The Dallas Morning News is reporting in today’s edition that residents in Mr. Hill’s home county of Dallas had a “sharp increase†in property tax appraisals –...
Late last night the Texas Senate unanimously passed House Bill 3430, which gives Texas’ taxpayers the ability to monitor spending and ensure tax dollars are being well-spent. This legislation marks a great milestone for fiscal accountability in Texas and...
The Senate this evening finally passed House Bill 735, legislation that represents one of the largest tax cuts in Texas history. The House version had the tax cut going into effect immediately, but the Senate opted to keep taking the tax for one more year. This is a...
