Bill Peacock, Director of the Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom, will be a guest on the Brad Messer show (KTSA-AM 550) at 11:35 a.m. today. Peacock will talk about HB 735 by Rep. Joe Straus (R-San Antonio), which would repeal the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund tax.
Taxes & Spending
Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Austin
Does history suggest that property taxes are too high in the city of Austin? And, if so, have local decision-makers actively helped or hurt the situation? To help answer these questions, let’s review the city’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and gather four types of data—i.e., tax levies, local population, total tax rates, and taxable values—over a 10-year time horizon. Using these audited estimates, we can gauge the growth of government (i.e., tax levy trends), assess its reasonability...
February 19, 2026