The Texas oil and natural gas industry broke multiple records in fiscal 2024, including paying a record $27.3 billion in taxes and royalties, according to new data published by the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA). view article

The tech giant’s decision to end the program comes as CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeks to mend ties with the incoming Trump administration.   view article

Most of Shackelford County’s tax entities have lowered rates, easing the property tax burden for residents.  w view article

Richardson ISD residents may see a voter-approval tax rate election next year in an effort to address budgetary shortfalls. The Community Budget Steering Committee made several recommendations for the RISD board of trustees to consider to address financial challenges the district faces because of declining revenues and increased operating costs.  The specifics: Several subcommittees within the Community Budget Steering Committee made recommendations for the board during its Dec. 12 meeting. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has determined that Fort Bend ISD did not violate state law with its voting incentives during the Voter Approval Tax Rate Election in 2023, although some people involved with the district at the time could potentially face bribery investigations. The ballot measure asked residents to approve a tax rate increase that would be used for teacher and staff raises as well as armed security required by an unfunded state mandate. The tax rate increase passed overwhelmingly, with 57% of the vote share. view article

HISD’s board of managers last week approved a budget amendment of nearly $125.5 million at the request of Miles, who said about $57 million of that total is local property tax revenue being sent to the state. Texas has a revenue-sharing system for public schools and determines their funding based on average daily attendance. view article

It's been over a month since Austinites voted in favor of Austin ISD's Proposition A, or the Voter Approved Tax Rate Election. The VATRE raised property taxes for Austin ISD homeowners to help provide pay raises and reduce the district's financial woes. Those bumps in pay have started hitting teachers' paychecks-- meaning Austin homeowners are also facing a hike in their tax bill. view article

As Texas lawmakers began filing legislation for consideration next year, one state representative submitted a series of proposals to require more transparency and accountability from local government officials who impose property taxes. view article

Voters have approved Montgomery ISD's voter-approval tax rate election, according to Montgomery ISD's Communications Coordinator Stephanie Wells and unofficial results from Montgomery County. view article

The tax rate election would have resulted in a 4.7% increase in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year. This would have been an additional $4.5 million for the district. The unofficial results for the tax rate election were 14,220 votes for yes and 20,076 for no. view article

Results show the majority of Coppell ISD voters are in opposition to the Nov. 5 tax rate election. With all precincts reporting, results show that voters in opposition are in the lead, according to unofficial election results from the Dallas County Elections website. Residents have cast 10,544 votes in favor, or 45.51% of votes cast Residents have cast 12,626 votes against, or 54.49% of votes cast Community Impact will update this article as more Election Day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed. view article

Following the failure of Northwest ISD’s Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election from the Nov. 5 election, NISD officials will begin planning for class size changes for the 2025-26 school year. According to a district news release, the 3-cent increase in property taxes would have generated approximately $16 million in the district’s maintenance and operations budget. Funds from this budget are used, in part, to help retain and attract teachers while also preventing cuts to student programs. Potential changes may be in store for other operations, as well. view article

In a statement regarding the Nov. 5 election results, Magnolia Superintendent Jason Bullock said, "Although the VATRE did not pass, MISD remains committed to finding ways to pay competitive salaries and making decisions in the best interests of students and staff. We will continue to do this with fiscal responsibility as our goal and with an eye toward overcoming the financial challenges facing public schools in Texas." view article

Tax rate increase elections in two Houston-area school districts hoping to raise extra revenue were poised to fail late Tuesday, while two other districts remained too close to call, early votes show.  view article

Voters in Frenship ISD approved a voter-approved tax rate election and two bond packages. Proposition A passed with 52.6 percent of the vote, 14,282 to 12,864. Proposition A is a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election or VATRE. The district plans to increase what it collects to use for Maintenance and Operations, and decrease revenue for paying debt, or Interest and Sinking, resulting in a slightly lower rate overall. view article

Montgomery ISD voters passed Prop A on Election Day, marking the district’s first successful tax ratification election and securing $5.5 million for education. The measure will contribute $5.5 million annually to the district’s Maintenance & Operations budget, helping to address a previously adopted $4.3 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year. view article

Austin voters have approved a tax rate increase that will provide millions for the Austin Independent School District to use toward pay raises and savings. Proposition A will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner, according to AISD. The rate will increase by $0.091 to $0.9505, translating to about 9.1 cents for $100 of a property’s value. view article

In the Austin and Manor school districts, voters on Tuesday will decide whether to approve ballot propositions that call for higher tax rates than the local school boards are allowed to set without voter consent. view article

A new report has found that Texas ranks behind six other states in terms of tax system efficiency and competitiveness.  view article

Austin ISD voters are being asked to consider a tax increase that district officials say will fund teacher salary increases, operational costs and help offset a $119 million budget deficit.   view article

The Anthony Independent School District (AISD) is asking residents to vote for a tax rate increase that will make improvements to their schools. In August, the AISD Board approved placing a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) on the Nov. 5 ballot to raise money to fund some of these improvements. view article

Collin County residents can expect to pay the same property tax rate to Collin College for the 2024-25 fiscal year.  The gist: The college’s board of trustees unanimously approved a tax rate of $0.081220 per $100 valuation during an Aug. 27 board meeting. This is the third year in a row the college has operated at this tax rate, according to Collin County documents.  The tax rate is broken down into two pieces: view article

Austin Independent School District Superintendent Matias Segura on Tuesday responded to criticism of the district’s proposed tax increase, which would inject millions into the district for pay raises and savings. The district, facing a $119 million deficit, is asking voters starting this week to approve Prop A, a tax rate increase the district says will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner. view article

COLLEGE STATION (Texas Real Estate Research Center) – Texas’ housing market slowed in February after persistently low mortgage interest rates contributed to record sales in the existing-home sector the previous month. "Sales activity was greatly hindered by February’s unseasonably wintery weather that caused power outages and water disruptions across the state," said Dr. Luis Torres, research economist for the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. Existing-homes sold through the Texas Multiple Listing Services declined 16 percent from January, drawing even with year-ago levels. Despite slower sales, the state’s existing-home inventory fell below 1.5 months in February. The number of new listings that hit the market declined for the second straight month to their lowest reading since April 2020, when the state was under a stay-at-home mandate. view article

Count on the Texas Legislature to come up with a painfully complicated and inefficient way to repeal a painfully complicated and inefficient tax. Lawmakers deserve praise for targeting the Texas Franchise Tax, but their methods are unsound. The franchise tax, also called the margins or business tax, ranks consistently as one of the worst taxes anywhere in the country. It was the convoluted response to the Texas Supreme Court declaring the public school finance system unconstitutional. Lawmakers had to lower property taxes to comply with the court order, so to find replacement funds they rewrote the franchise tax, what businesses pay for the privilege to operate in our great state. view article

The Dallas school board Thursday night voted against putting a tax ratification election before voters this fall. The proposed 13-cent tax hike would have given the district $100 million to fund early childhood education and early college high school programs. The district also wanted to expand a program that pays extra money to top teachers who take jobs in some of the district’s toughest schools. view article

Trustees of the Wylie Independent School District proposed a tax rate of $1.13 per $100 of property value for the 2016-17 fiscal year — a tax cut of 2.4 cents — and added more money to the proposed budget for teachers' salaries during Monday's regular board meeting. Trustees conducted their third of three workshops for the 2016-17 budget of $32.340 million and set a special meeting for Monday, Aug. 29, at 6:30 p.m. to receive comments from the public on the budget and tax rate and then consider approval. view article

School trustees in Kilgore began their budget-writing season Monday with an overview of what is and isn’t known about financing the 2014-15 school year. view article