The state’s high property taxes have taken center stage as Texas’ real estate market explodes and drives up home values.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
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Economy
Austin becomes first Texas city to test a taxpayer-funded “guaranteed income” program
Austin joins at least 28 U.S. cities, like Los Angeles, Chicago and Pittsburgh, that have tried out some form of “guaranteed income” — financial assistance targeted at needy households.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: Texas is great — and ought to be better
Texas is a great state, but there’s a lot of work to do, and it starts with the public — and what Texans really want. The political class isn’t going to do this on its own.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: The case for big ideas in Texas government
Texas political leaders usually settle for caution. The big stuff is risky, but it’s also possible — and even inspiring — to see leaders ignoring the small stuff and aiming higher.
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Economy
As Texas home values skyrocket, state officials wrestle with how to slow property tax increases
Texas school districts, cities and counties rely heavily on property taxes to pay for roads, libraries, police, firefighters and public schools. But lowering tax bills has long been a difficult endeavor.
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Economy
Abbott ends inspections that clogged commercial traffic at U.S.-Mexico border for more than a week
The deals Abbott made with three of the four Mexican border governors don’t include any new security measures south of the border. Abbott threatened to restart the inspections if Mexican states don’t slow migration to Texas.
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Economy
Eviction filings in Texas’ major cities reach new highs since pandemic began
Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin all ranked among the top 10 cities for new eviction filings in early April, among the 31 cities tracked by Eviction Lab.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: Texans without high-speed internet are getting closer, slowly
Like other states, Texas found out during the pandemic how critical high-speed broadband is for school, work and medicine. And the state is working to expand it — but it’s going to be at least a year before Texans start to see results.
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Economy
Gov. Greg Abbott announces deals with two more Mexican governors to halt Texas’ vehicle inspections at the border
The announcements come a day after Abbott reached a similar deal with Nuevo León’s governor, who agreed to add security at a major border bridge in exchange for an end to increased vehicle inspections by Texas troopers.
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Economy
Biden administration, Mexican governors urge Abbott to end inspections that have bogged down border trade
Gov. Greg Abbott is slated to have a meeting and press event with Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda — the Mexican governor of Nuevo León, the state that includes a section of the border near Laredo — later Wednesday afternoon.