If you've ever been to Hitchcock, which is situated in the shadows of Texas 
City and its effusive refineries, despite the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, you might be forgiven for not having thought you were in Palm Beach. Hitchcock may not seem like a ritzy resort rolling in money, but don't tell that to the Galveston County Tax Appraiser. It turns out that property values in Hitchcock are increasing by 27.41 percent this year, according to a Galveston Daily News report.
Among hamlets in Galveston County, Galveston is second with a 19.4 percent increase. The countywide increase was 8.9 percent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a third of property taxpayers have filed appeals to challenge their appraisals.
This is yet another example of how a rising tide of property taxes is watering down and, in some cases, even more than counteracting the recent statewide property tax cuts. Unless real appraisal relief is implemented, we will end up with the worst of both worlds – a growing new state tax burden on business and uncontrolled local property tax burdens on homeowners and business.
