On Thursday morning, Texas Democratic Party Chair Charles Soechting accused Republican Ben Bentzin of gaming the property tax system by deliberately understating the values of two custom homes. Bentzin faces Democrat Donna Howard in a special election run-off Tuesday, Feb. 14, for the state House District 48 seat; the winner will serve until January of 2007, to be succeeded by whoever wins the seat in November. Soechting bases his claims on copies of building permit applications and other documents relating to the construction of two homes Bentzin built – one in 1996 for $550,000 and another in 2000 for $3.3 million. Both permit applications to the city understate the home values by more than 50%, Soechting said, adding that Bentzin should have paid an additional $100,000-plus on his tax bill. The party leader said the fact that Bentzin undervalued his homes on two different occasions shows a pattern of cheating on taxes. "He obviously is willing to deceive while the rest of us compensate for his lifestyle," Soechting said. Bentzin's campaign has denied Soechting's charges, and Travis Co. appraiser Art Cory told the
Statesman that permit application valuations are typically low and not used in tax appraisals.
It's uncertain how much mileage Howard and the Democratic Party can gain from the property tax issue in the few days leading up to the vote. Soechting's charges followed the state Republican Party's attack mailers and TV ads painting Howard as a tax-and-spend liberal, because she supported the construction of a second high school during her tenure as an Eanes school board member – a position then supported, as it happens, by Eanes residents and national GOP figures Karl Rove and Karen Hughes. Soechting, noting that one of the Republican Party's chief bankrollers is right-wing millionaire James Leininger, said the state Democratic Party can't afford to buy TV time to spread the word about Bentzin's property tax issues.
