by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 26, 2007 | State
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 –...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 24, 2007 | State
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...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 23, 2007 | State
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...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 22, 2007 | State
Remember the campaign promises for property tax relief? Seen your latest property tax bill? The rates are going down (a little, because of the 2006 tax swap), but the bills are going up (a lot, thanks to appraisal creep).  Six days remain in the legislative...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 18, 2007 | State
With just 10 days left in the legislative session, time is running out. On the one hand, that is a good thing – less time for bad things to get done. On the other, it’s less time for good things to be accomplished. Either way, the clock is ticking. Here are some...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 10, 2007 | State
I've never seen anything quite like it. The Texas House today turned a $2.5 billion tax cut (H.B. 2785) into a $4.4 billion spending increase! Texans now know that too many legislators – Republicans and Democrats – are more interested in growing the size of...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 9, 2007 | State
It’s hard to believe I’m even having to write this: but your only shot at getting even a little bit of honest property tax relief is on life support, and hours away from death. Please call your legislator today and ask them to demand that House Bill 2785...
by Mlevin | May. 4, 2007 | State
When the moderate to liberal editorial board of the San Antonio Express-News blasts ostensibly conservative Republican Senate leaders for not getting rid of an outrageous tax, something is seriously wrong in Austin. That is what happened earlier this week. While the...
by Admin | May. 2, 2007 | State
Real Spending Limits, Budget Transparency Highlighted In Letters AUSTIN, Texas – By the thousands, Texans are demanding that the legislature act now on significant budget reforms that will provide for a strong spending limit and real spending transparency. Thousands...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | Apr. 27, 2007 | Local
There was once a time when Republicans were known as the tax-cutters; people who – if nothing else – would work to make sure the taxpayers’ money stayed in the taxpayers’ wallet (as State Rep. Rob Eissler likes to say). That was then, this is now. State Rep....
by Mlevin | Apr. 27, 2007 | State
While little has been accomplished this session for taxpayers so far, some good news came today when the House unanimously passed HB3490 which will prevent appraisal districts from suing property taxpayers when they win their appeal before the Appraisal Review Board...
by Mlevin | Apr. 22, 2007 | State
Last week, the Texas House finally passed a piece of property tax relief legislation, voting in favor of HB216 by Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton) by a margin of 87-53. This bill allows appraisal districts a margin of error of 10 percent, instead of the current 5 percent,...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | Apr. 16, 2007 | State
 It’s getting increasingly easy to get on the government gravy train. From movie studio execs to Ph.D. families, the hand-outs just don’t end in this Republican-controlled legislature. Small government. Right… This week, the Texas Senate’s...
by Mlevin | Apr. 15, 2007 | State
The Tyler Morning Telegraph has a revealing story today (see link or below) in which Tom Pauken, the chair of the Governor’s Property Tax Reform Task Force, is quoted stating how disappointed he is with the lack of progress so far. He speaks candidly about...
by Mlevin | Apr. 13, 2007 | State
Senator Dan Patrick has once again demonstrated that he is not afraid to rock the boat in order to stand up for taxpayers.  He not only voted against a $152 billion Senate budget ($2 billion more than the House version) but further listed over $2.9 billion in...
by Admin | Apr. 12, 2007 | State, Texas Scorecard Podcasts
by Mlevin | Apr. 9, 2007 | State
If you can come to the Capitol only once this session, tomorrow Tuesday, April 10 is a great day to do it. Vitally important legislation to limit the growth in government will be heard by the House Appropriations Committee beginning at 12:30 in Capitol Extension Room...
by Mlevin | Apr. 4, 2007 | Local
The McAllen Monitor reported that the new $150 billion House budget for the 2008-09 biennium includes some arguably pork barrel expenditures – most of those mentioned are earmarks for projects in the Rio Grande Valley. Among the taxpayer-funded projects...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | Apr. 4, 2007 | State
So the cut-and-run retreat of Republicans from conservative values and principles continued this week. While the modern French are widely known for a willingness to surrender before a battle is fought, it seems Republicans in the Texas House are even willing to...
by Mlevin | Mar. 30, 2007 | State
Comptroller Susan Combs this week estimated that the new state business tax on gross revenues would bring in $500 to $800 million less than expected. This estimate is based on voluntary submissions made by many affected businesses. However, many business, particularly...
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