When we say “we’re taxed enough already” we’re not exaggerating.
On top of a massive tax increase for the average county resident last year, Austinites in particular are staring down the scope of an $1,800/year hike. That may not sound like a lot to those of you who are well-to-do, but to families and business owners living on the edge, the poor, and the elderly, that missing $1,800 (or more) could be the difference between staying in Travis County or having to leave entirely.
Hard-working Travis County residents are currently saddled with rising living costs, a tight job market, and high home prices, the Travis GOP reminds us. Evictions are on the rise, families are hurting, and we’re still licking our wounds from the July Fourth floods.
Yet the Austin Proposition Q tax increase proposal, which is on Austin city ballots starting Oct. 20, 2025, adds to a heap of other tax hikes, such as the already-approved Travis County “emergency” tax increase (see Lago Vista Councilman Shane Saum‘s expose here), Central Health’s tax hike, and Austin Community College District’s increase. Several lawsuits concerning the legality of these proposed increases are pending, the Travis GOP noted.
According to KXAN, here’s how much taxes will go up for the average household (around $500k) in each taxing entity:
+$562 – Austin Community College
+$608 – Central Health
+$291 — Travis County
+$303 — City of Austin
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+$1,764 total
City leaders are projecting they will need $110 million in additional revenue to fund the next budget, and that Prop. Q is the only way to get there. But our friends with Save Austin Now were quick on the switch to find $100 million in cuts that could be made, instead:
Urban Alchemy Shelter Contract – $3.5M+ (vendor already cut for failures)
Marshalling Yard Shelter – $8M (temporary facility costs)
Duplicative Department Overhead – $5–10M (APH, Housing, HSO overlap)
Consultants & Planning Studies – $8–10M (endless reports, little action)
Vacant Non-Sworn FTEs – $50–100M (thousands of salaries budgeted for jobs that don’t exist)
Non-Essential IT Pilots – $10M (projects with no public visibility or outcomes)
Arts & Culture Expansions – $5M+ (nice-to-haves while core services are squeezed)
Advertising & PR Campaigns – $3–5M (taxpayer-funded marketing)
Administrative Support Contracts – $10M+ (HR, comms, admin outsourced)
Conference & Training Travel – $5M (cutting back to essentials saves millions)
Austin residents are waking up. On Wednesday, a bipartisan crowd of hundreds of supporters met with A Greater Republic PAC to hear from former Democratic Travis County Judge Bill Aleshire, former Republican County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, economist Bill Peacock, and activist Jen Robecheaux about the plan to stop Prop. Q dead in its tracks.
Signs are going out, flyers are going on doors, and voters are being contacted in numerous ways. The Travis County Taxpayers Union stands with this broad coalition in stemming the tide of overtaxation here in our capital city.
Meanwhile, all supporters — mostly union activists and far-Left community organizers — can say is that un-auditable nonprofits could be on the chopping block if Prop. Q does not pass. Their flyers accuse President Donald J. Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott of opposing Prop. Q — when in reality this rash of local spending is a knee-jerk reaction to DOGE efforts at the state and federal level. Who’s really playing politics, we ask?
For these reasons and more TCTU urges all Austin voters to vote against Proposition Q and for all Central Texan to turn out to help defeat what could be the largest tax hike in Austin history. Our future is at stake.
Sign up here to help stop Prop. Q!