Texas Scorecard by Brandon Waltens October 2, 2025
Four cities are in the crosshairs for potentially raising taxes illegally.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is ordering multiple Texas cities to halt their newly adopted property tax increases while his office investigates whether the hikes are illegal under a new state law designed to protect taxpayers.
The first city in Paxton’s sights is Whitesboro, where just this week the city council approved a 61 percent tax rate increase despite warnings that the move could violate state law.
Senate Bill 1851, passed during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, prohibits cities that fail to meet annual audit deadlines from adopting a tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate, which generally keeps property tax bills flat.
On Monday, Whitesboro council members voted unanimously to adopt a rate that will raise the average homeowner’s city property tax bill by nearly $500. Paxton’s office, however, says the city failed to timely file its required financial audit and annual statement for Fiscal Year 2024, submitting the documents in June—months after the March 29 deadline.
In a letter sent to city officials, Paxton said he is formally launching an investigation to determine whether the tax rate is illegal and demanded the city pause implementation until the review is complete.
“I have grave concerns that municipalities across Texas have blatantly violated the law in an attempt to crank up people’s property taxes,” Paxton said in a statement. “My message to these cities is this: don’t mess with Texas taxpayers. Local governments must abide by the law, and I will take every step to defend the people of Texas and their hard-earned dollars.”
Whitesboro’s tax hike has drawn outrage from local residents, many of whom packed city meetings to plead for relief.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/local/paxton-orders-cities-to-halt-tax-hikes-amid-potential-audit-law-violations/
