WAS VETERANS EXEMPTION REALLY MEANT FOR THIS?

By Juan Montoya
The Cameron County Appraisal District has given a 100 percent homestead exemption to disabled veterans who meet these requirements:
The veteran owns a home and occupies it as his residence homestead.
The veteran is receiving 100 percent disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for a service-connected disability.
The veteran has a disability rating of 100 percent disabled or of individual unemployability.
All this sounds legitimate even as some veterans say that having served for love of country should not give them additional benefits in addition to those that are already given them by state and federal regulations.
This subject will surely generate even more debate after the Cameron County Commissioners Court is asked during their Thursday meeting to authorize a refund authorized by the CCAD based on the Texas Property Tax Code authorizing the refund for a 100 percent exemption.
The veteran in question?
Would you believe Suth Padre Island Mayor Robert N. Pinkerton Jr.?
Pinkerton apparently qualifies under the county's disability exemptions and the commissioners will be asked to give him a refund for his homestead and improvements located on Section IX, Lot 1, Bock 137. The CCAD lists the 2012 value of the property at $799,344 with improvements appraised at $807,457 for a total of $1,606,801.
The total taxes to be refunded for Pinketon's homestead is of $29,891.45.
As taxing entities struggle to make do with their budgetary constraints and eye potential increases on properties and service fees they provide, some local residents question whether providing a total exemption in cases of high-value properties like Pinkerton's is fair to other taxpayers who will have to make up the shortfall.
It is estimated that there are 1.7 million disabled veterans in Texas. During this legislative session one of the main proponents of the disability exemptions was Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos.
It is only a coincidence, we are sure, that Pinkerton is Cascos' fellow Republican and is listed on political websites as a frequent contributor to GOP candidates including 2012 presidential candidate  Mitt Romney.
Now with a $29,891 tax refund coming back to the mayor, more of those candidates may well benefit from the break.