“Fixing” the Texas Margin Tax

October 30, 2012

The Honorable Chuck DeVore

Chuck DeVore is the vice president of national initiatives at the Foundation. He writes about the economy and how energy, tax and regulatory policies influence general prosperity, and he frequently appears on Fox News. He also guides the Foundation’s growing national work in criminal justice reform. He authored the book The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America.

James Quintero

@JamesQuinteroTX

James Quintero is the policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Government for the People campaign. Since joining the Foundation in 2008, Quintero has focused extensively on: state & local government spending, taxes, debt, public pension reform, annexation, and local regulations.

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin

Texas’ franchise tax was expanded in 2008. With four years’ experience in collecting what is referred to as the “margin” tax, it is clear that abolishing the margin tax is the right “fix” for Texas.

“

View Full Publication

Protecting Texas Critical Infrastructure: Prevention, Mitigation, and Recovery from Natural Disasters and State Actor and Terrorist Attacks

Protecting Texas Critical Infrastructure: Prevention, Mitigation, and Recovery from Natural Disasters and State Actor and Terrorist Attacks By: The Honorable Chuck DeVore Download the full research paper here. Key Points Texas’s critical infrastructure remains vulnerable to natural disasters and attacks. The federal government largely abandoned civil defense 50 years ago. Should key elements of Texas’s...

October 15, 2026

Taxes & Spending

These 12 Small & Mid-Sized Cities and Counties are Threatening Huge Tax Hikes

Many small and mid-sized cities and counties are right now considering tax rates that, if ultimately adopted, will result in homeowners paying higher taxes. In some cases, those threatened tax hikes are dramatic. To better understand which Texas taxpayers are in the danger zone, I recently surveyed numerous Notices of Public Hearing on Tax Increase,...

September 14, 2026

Family

Temporary Assistance for Two-Parent Families in Texas: Reorienting TANF Toward Integral Human Development and Flourishing

Temporary Assistance for Two-Parent Families in Texas: Reorienting TANF Toward Integral Human Development and Flourishing Key points: TANF was designed to promote two-parent family stability, but current implementation in Texas diverts funds away from this core purpose. Strong empirical evidence shows that children in two-parent households experience better educational, economic, and behavioral outcomes. Texas TANF...

October 21, 2026