Texans pay higher rates on the purchase of telecommunications services (except satellite) than they do on fireworks and hard liquor. In fact, only cigarettes are taxed at a higher rate. But there is some good news. The elimination of the TIF tax and changes in the USF fee has saved Texas consumers about $350 million a year.
Economy
Don’t Fence Me In: Lianne’s Story
Family, then finances—and opportunity. Those are what brought Lianne Halpern back to tiny Shamrock, a small, dusty stop on the famous Route 66 in the Texas panhandle. Like generations of Americans before, Lianne and her family had traveled west along that route in search of the golden promises of California. Lianne’s father worked in the...
January 29, 2026