Reuters | By: Laila Kearney | September 08, 2017:
Texas communities flooded by Hurricane Harvey could see their property tax revenues sink, a financial blow that would leave many cities and counties struggling for years.
Property taxes are the top source of revenue for local governments in Texas, which depend on it to fund schools, roads and other public services.
With tens of thousands of homes and businesses damaged, officials foresee tumbling values when those structures are reassessed.
“This is something that is going to depress revenues, the only major revenues our counties have, immediately and for years,” said Donald Lee, executive director of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties, a non-profit organization of 37 member counties.
Texas is one of seven states nationwide that has no state income tax, leaving it with an outsized dependence on property taxes. The Lone Star state has the third highest average property tax rate in the United States, at 2.06 percent, according to a study by real-estate tracker ATTOM Data Solutions.
Neighboring Florida, which likewise has no state income tax, could face a similar challenge. The state is bracing for a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic. Florida counties like Miami-Dade, which is in Irma’s immediate path, also count property taxes as their biggest revenue source.
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