One shoe does not fit all in property taxes

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Property tax appraisal time again in Gonzales County; a well-run system it seems. Everyone with real estate pays a fair share as the property appraisal systems works; it’s well-honed with pretty rigid rules for evaluation of market value.

Well, not to imply a system so long established is wrong, just a feeling it could be made more adaptive to individual cases. It’s the same ole attitude of us skeptics that the bureaucratic “one shoe fits all” scheme is really not fair to all.

Let’s look at the example where property values in a bustling city like Gonzales, houses valued at so much a square foot (a significant increase the past year are-wide) are also considered on the same value fooling in remote country or little run-down townships. Would a buyer pay an equal amount for a rural house on the same basis of a set dollar value per square foot as compared to a city house with all the associated city infrastructure?

Just as the state of Texas is considering constitutional limits to federal government reach into our lives with their “one shoe fits all” schemes, shouldn’t the county also be trying to govern with more fairness in taxation? The county judge has to lead that.

David Cole

Harwood

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