KHOU: No property tax break for Ike victims
KHOU-11's Lee McGuire reports that Harris County residents whose homes were significantly damaged by Hurricane Ike shouldn't be expecting any property tax breaks:
On the outside, Jim Kaufman’s Nassau Bay home looks like it survived Hurricane Ike, but from the inside, it’s clear, it did not.
“It’s a pretty devastating blow to come back and see this. It’s all gone,” said Kaufman.
Kaufman said that his home is a total loss. But to Harris County tax assessors—it’s worth exactly what it was before the storm.
Taxing jurisdictions have the ability to “reassess” property after a hurricane, reducing home values and, with them, taxes. According to HCAD, after Ike, not one county - school district - or city - did anything of the sort.
“I think it’s unseemly that someone who has lost a house has to pay full appraisal on the house,” said State Senator Dan Patrick.
State Senator Patrick says local governments should have given taxpayers a break. Many considered it—but all rejected it.
Patrick is right. This is an issue he is well positioned to champion, and we hope he charges forward on it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/28/09 11:12 PM | Houston Miscellany | Print | Comments (3)
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