David Guenthner, the Foundation’s Director of Media and Government Relations, will appear on the “Pratt on Texas” program (KFYO 790 AM – Lubbock) at 5:35 p.m. on Tuesday. Guenthner will discuss his new commentary on next week’s school tax rate elections with host Robert Pratt. To listen live, click here.
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