Tax Cuts
What to know: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a $10 billion property tax cut into law (though portions must still be approved by voters in November).
The TPPF take: The tax relief package is expected to lower taxes for the average homeowner by $484 per year while elderly and disabled homeowners will pay $938 less per year.
“This session’s $10 billion tax cut will lighten the load for most Texas taxpayers, who’ve been crushed by fast-growing local property taxes,” says TPPF’s Greg Sindelar. “Together with the 2023 tax cuts, the Legislature has lowered the average homeowner’s tax bill by almost $1,800 over the last two sessions.”
For more on tax cuts, click here.
Deporting Themselves
What to know: Nearly 1 million illegal immigrants have “self-deported” back to their home countries, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
The TPPF take: The Trump administration isn’t compromising on border security or illegal immigration.
“If we’re going to solve the problems of our immigration system, the United States must first establish that we will not compromise on border security and the rule of law,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “Without that first, any talk of reform is meaningless. Only when we have achieved a secure border can we begin discussing the best ways to improve the legal immigration system.”
For more on immigration, click here.
Clearing the Air
What to know: The Trump administration is moving to stop regulating carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
The TPPF take: The fact is that U.S. power plant emissions do not significantly contribute to global climate change and cannot be regulated under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act.
“The Clean Air Act requires that emissions ‘contribute significantly’ to endangerment of public health. Since the health effect of CO2 is not direct but occurs through its effect on the global climate, the proper measure is whether those emissions cause a measurable change in global temperature.” Says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “Even if the United States were to eliminate all of its carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, it would reduce global temperature by at most 0.015 degrees C by 2050, which is far smaller than the measurement error in the temperature data.”
For more on emissions, click here.