He wouldn’t be the first candidate to make Hurricane Ike a political issue, but Texas Senate District 17 candidate Austen Furse (Republican) is promoting a plan that could provide a financial break for thousands of Hurricane victims.
Furse is calling on local officials to authorize the reappraisal of all property damaged by Hurricane Ike.
“There are thousands of people who suffered significant damage or lost their entire homes. It is only fair that they should have their properties reappraised so that we don’t ask people to pay taxes on a home that was washed away by Hurricane Ike”, Furse said.
“Existing law authorizes local officials in a disaster area to proceed with a reappraisal process so folks who lose their homes or suffer significant damage pay a fair property tax for the portion of the year after their homes were damaged or destroyed. It is simple and fair, and is not too much to ask for our homeowners,” said Furse.
According to Furse’s campaign statement, reappraised homes will be taxed at the new appraised value only for the period after the disaster occurred.
The previously appraised value would continue to remain in effect for the part of the year before Hurricane Ike. So if a property were appraised at $200,000 before the storm and $100,000 after the storm, the $200,000 value would apply for the 256 days before Ike hit, and the $100,000 value would apply for the 110 days after Ike hit.
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Mary Benton Media 