COURT FILING CLAIMS TEXAS CENTRAL OWES OVER $622,000 IN 2021 PROPERTY TAXES

  

A court filing in the Supreme Court of Texas regarding the proposed high-speed rail between Houston and Dallas says the company in charge of the railway is delinquent on property taxes in several counties.

An Amicus Curiae letter was filed last week in the case James Frederick Miles v. Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc. and Integrated Texas Logistics, Inc.  The letter states that between the counties of Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Grimes, Harris, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Navarro and Waller counties, Texas Central owes over $622,000 in 2021 property taxes, penalties and interest.

That total includes $145,982 in Grimes County and $111,817 in Waller County.  Ellis County is still determining the amount owed by the company.

Attorneys representing the counties claim that Texas Central’s inability to pay its property taxes proves that the project will not bring economic benefits to the state or its rural communities, and that Texas Central has not shown it can fund the project as planned.  They further state that the company “is actively harming the impacted counties by depriving them of funds needed for essential public services”.

Waller County Judge Trey Duhon, who is also the president of Texans Against High-Speed Rail, said Texas Central is attempting to build a $30 billion project and use eminent domain to do so, but is “incapable of doing something that property owners must do every year—pay their property taxes.”

State Representative Ben Leman said, “It is unconscionable that this company continues in their efforts to take people’s land when it is very clear they do not have the financial means to move forward with this project.”