It's Tax Protest Season in Texas

Texas has a convoluted way of protesting one's taxes, it's through the protest of the value of one's property, which by its own laws must be based on the market.

So, people protest the value of their houses to try to lower them so that they may be assessed lower taxes. The main arguing point is something along the lines of, "I'm protesting the value of my property because my taxes are too high," or "I'm protesting the value of my property because I can't afford the taxes." As already mentioned, property values are based on the market, what properties are being bought and sold for. They are not based on a person's income, or budget.

What they should be doing is going to the public hearings that the taxing entities hold when they're deciding their tax rates for the year. But, as the taxing entities are only required to post notice of these meetings in the media, and at the city halls and county courthouses, people don't pay them much mind. What the state of Texas should do is obligate the taxing entities to send an invitation to these hearings to every property owner, and they should put tax information on that invitation, showing things like the amount of taxes they assessed the previous year, and what they're proposing for the current year.

How do other states afford taxpayers the right to protest their property values?