Texas Economy & Small Business
Jobs, taxes, state spending, regulation, entrepreneurship, and the policy decisions that affect Texas employers and small businesses — with the numbers and legislation behind the headlines.
Energy & Oil
Permian Basin, ERCOT, and state energy policy.
Explore →Jobs & Employment
Workforce policy, business conditions, and the Texas labor market.
Explore →Business Growth
Corporate investment, regulation, startups, and Texas competitiveness.
Explore →Taxes & State Budget
Tax policy, appropriations, public spending, and legislative proposals.
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The Texas Property Tax Guide: Appraisals, Caps, and Calculating Your Bill
How Texas property taxes really work — appraisal caps, homestead exemptions, ISD M&O rates, and a step-by-step walkthrough for estimating what you actually owe.
Read the full guide →Inside Texas Economic Policy
Keep TX Red follows the decisions in Austin that shape the state economy: taxes, appropriations, energy regulation, workforce policy, infrastructure, and the business climate. The focus is on government action and measurable public consequences rather than household relocation or personal-finance planning.
Energy remains central to the state economy. Legislative decisions involving ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission, oil and gas production, transmission, and reliability can affect employers, local governments, and consumers across Texas.
Tax and spending coverage centers on proposals before the Legislature, adopted budgets, agency implementation, and local-government authority. Follow the Texas bills database and our Legislature coverage for the measures and votes behind those changes.
Track state decisions
Taxes, spending, regulation, and growth
Review active legislation, state-government actions, and reporting on how public policy affects Texas employers, taxpayers, industries, and regional economies.
Explore this Texas topic
Jobs, taxes, state spending, regulation, entrepreneurship, employers, and conditions affecting Texas small businesses.
Covered here
- Jobs and workforce
- Small business
- Taxes and spending
- Property taxes and appraisals
- Regulation
- Manufacturing
- Investment
All Coverage in this Section
The Texas Energy Economy: A Full Overview of Oil, Gas, ERCOT, and the Grid That Powers America
How Texas became the energy capital of North America — Permian crude, Eagle Ford gas, ERCOT reliability, the Railroad Commission, and what the Houston-led oil and gas industry means for the Texas economy.
Why Texas Has No State Income Tax — and What Pays for Government Instead
Texas is one of nine states without an income tax, and the 2019 constitutional amendment makes it nearly impossible to enact one. Here's the sales-tax-and-property-tax model that funds the second-largest state in the union.
The Texas Homestead Exemption Explained: What Every Homeowner Should Claim
A plain-English walkthrough of the $140,000 school-district homestead exemption, over-65 and disabled relief, disabled-veteran reductions, and how to file with your county appraisal district.
How to Protest Your Property Appraisal — and Actually Win
Deadlines, evidence packets, equal-and-uniform comps, and the ARB hearing script that gets values reduced. A practical playbook for every Texas homeowner.
How Texas Counties Actually Spend Your Money
Sheriff's office, jail operations, road and bridge, district courts, and indigent defense — a breakdown of where every dollar of your county property tax actually goes.
How County Appraisal Districts Work — and Your Rights as a Taxpayer
Inside the CAD: how appraisers set market values, what the Appraisal Review Board does, and the statutory rights every property owner can invoke during protest season.