When the Conversation Changes — And Why Texans Deserve the Truth About “Ghost Value” Taxes

For years, Texans have been shouting about one issue that cuts deeper than politics:

Property taxes are suffocating families.

Leaders ignored it.

County officials shrugged it off.

And Austin acted like the system was untouchable.

But suddenly — right in the middle of election year — the conversation has changed.

Screenshots across Texas now show politicians posting about:

  •        “Unlawful tax increases”

  •        “Municipal transparency”

  •        “Making Texas affordable again”

Even the Attorney General has launched an investigation into over 1,000 cities for possible tax law violations.

That didn’t happen out of nowhere.

That happened because Texans refused to stay silent.

And I’m proud to know that long before campaign season, I was one of the voices exposing the deeper constitutional problem behind the entire system.

⭐ The Real Constitutional Problem: Texas Is Taxing “Ghost Value”

Most Texans don’t know this, but the Texas Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue — multiple times.

The Court has said clearly:

Texas cannot tax property based on value that does not exist.

This unconstitutional practice is known as:

  •        Ghost value

  •        Phantom value

  •        Fictional value

  •        Modeled value

And Texans have been paying taxes based on it for decades.

Here are the major cases that prove it:

1. Enron Corp. v. Spring ISD, 922 S.W.2d 931 (Tex. 1996)

The Texas Supreme Court held that the State cannot impose taxes based on “nonexistent intangible value” or “phantom value.”

The Court ruled that all taxation must reflect actual, real, measurable market value, not estimates manufactured by appraisal districts.

This case is the foundation of the rule:

👉 No taxation without real value.

2. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Combs, 270 S.W.3d 249 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2008, no pet.)

Here, the Court struck down appraisal methods that created fictional value through formulas the market did not recognize.

The message was simple:

👉 Appraisal districts cannot invent numbers.

3. Harris County Appraisal District v. United Investors Realty Trust, 47 S.W.3d 648 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2001, pet. denied)

The Court ruled that using assumptions, projections, or speculative models to inflate value violates the Texas Constitution.

👉 If the value doesn’t exist in the market, it cannot be taxed.

4. The Texas Constitution — Article 8, Section 1(b)

The supreme law of Texas says:

“All real property… shall be taxed in proportion to its value.”

Not computer-generated value.

Not “mass appraisal” value.

Not ghost value.

Real. Value. Only.

These cases — backed by the Constitution itself — prove that today’s property-tax system is operating outside the law.

That is the heart of my fight.