TEXAS7/7/2026

Liberty Under Siege: Texas Cities Make Exercising Property Rights a Costly Affair

Texans face a growing infringement on their property rights, as El Paso's increased permitting fees and Houston's rising property taxes combine to make exercising basic liberties an increasingly expensive and bureaucratic burden.

The fundamental right to property, considered inviolable by classical liberals, is increasingly under siege in Texas cities, transformed into a privilege dependent on the state's ever-growing demand for revenue. From El Paso's escalating fees to Houston's relentless property tax hikes, municipal governments are engaged in a systemic 'legal plunder' that makes the exercise of basic liberty an expensive and bureaucratic affair.

In El Paso, the City Council has just approved a 10% increase in all residential renovation permitting fees El Paso Municipal Permitting Fee Hikes. This directly means that homeowners planning additions or improvements to their own property 'will face higher upfront costs from municipal bureaucracy' El Paso Municipal Permitting Fee Hikes. This isn't a fee for a voluntary service; it's a coercive tax on the act of exercising one's right to improve one's property. Bastiat would categorize this as a form of veiled plunder, where the law, instead of protecting property, imposes burdens that diminish its value and restrict its free use.

This burden is further exacerbated by cities like Houston, where a proposed 4.5% property tax rate increase is on the table, justified by the need for 'municipal infrastructure expansions' Houston Prop Tax Rate Adjustment Proposal. Property owners are already 'expressing concerns over rising living expenses and municipal budget bloat' Houston Prop Tax Rate Adjustment Proposal. Property taxes, by their nature, represent a perpetual claim by the state on privately held wealth. They are a continuous extraction that diminishes an individual's accumulated capital and makes the retention of property conditional upon ongoing payments to the government. This undermines the security of property, a cornerstone of individual liberty.

The combined effect of these municipal ordinances from El Paso and Houston is clear: Texans are being forced to pay increasingly more for the basic freedom to own, improve, and live in their homes. These actions are not merely fiscal policies; they are infringements on natural rights, embodying Bastiat's warning that when law deviates from its proper function of protecting individual rights, it inevitably becomes an instrument of oppression and 'legal plunder.'

Bibliography

Houston, City of. 2026. "Houston Prop Tax Rate Adjustment Proposal." *City of Houston*. July 3, 2026. https://www.houstontx.gov/budget/tax-proposal-july-2026.

El Paso, City of. 2026. "El Paso Municipal Permitting Fee Hikes." *City of El Paso, Texas*. July 6, 2026. https://www.elpasotexas.gov/financial-services/fee-schedule-2026.