Texas House Speaker Joe Straus is doubling down on his resolve to oppose further right-sizing of government, instead seeking new revenues (read: taxes) to fill government coffers in 2013. His policy pronouncements in El Paso, and reiterated in Fort Worth, dangerously...
Taxes
Straus Channels Obama: ‘No More Cuts, Hike Revenues’
When it comes to confronting Texas' budget challenges of 2013 and beyond, Republican House Speaker Joe Straus has an answer: no more spending cuts. Instead, Joe Straus wants to look for new revenues. That means digging deeper into your wallet and ruining Texas'...
Problematic Prop 4 smells familiar, in a bad way
It sounds so harmless, doesn't it - giving counties the authority to create reinvestment zones where there is currently blight. That's the gist of one Texas constitutional amendment, Proposition 4, on the November 8 ballot. This amendment is a bigger concern than it...
Small Town Tax Hikes
Think it’s only big city school districts pushing for tax hikes to cover their negligent spending habits? Think again. Dripping Springs ISD wants to raise taxes to the maximum allowed by law, despite the fact that they spend less than 25 percent of their total...
The fleeting joy of tax rate cuts
Tax rate cuts are like bluebonnets - temporary and sometimes non-existent beauties that fade with the season. Even when tax rates are cut in one taxing entity, other entities will often hike your rate, and it is likely your appraisal goes up as well, making any joy...
Legislators Should Have Yelled “Cut”
While other states have come to their senses about subsidizing Hollywood, Texas' lawmakers continue pumping taxpayer cash into a scheme of dubious value to Texans and our economy. The Wall Street Journal reports today that states are halting the subsidies as they find...
Recession Over? It Is For Texas Local Governments
Are we out of recession? Has the economy in Texas, outside the immediate oil-patch, started to boom? If you look at local government decisions across the state you’d think Texas to have an unemployment rate half what it is. Just a review of the past few days of news...
Bad Day For Taxers
You know the burden of big government taxpayers must carry is heavy when the reliably liberal Austin American Statesman questions the need for it. But that's precisely what the editorial board did in today's edition of the paper. The title the editorial board gave it...
Who Will Tax You?
Even as the legislative cheerleaders for raising gas taxes have been sidelined and admit there isn’t the political will to grow government while making travel and transportation more expensive, other big spenders are stepping up efforts to build new avenues draining your wallet. They are seeking support from statewide associations and trade groups, hoping for grassroots support in pushing a big-tax agenda even as the national and state economy struggle to climb out of the worst recession in decades.