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.
