Herschel Walker claims homestead tax exemption in Dallas, TX, while running for Senate in Georgia
A bombshell new report from CNN last week found that this year Herschel Walker claimed a homestead tax exemption on his $3 million house in Dallas, Texas–a tax break reserved for primary residents of Texas only. Now, Walker is facing a potential investigation from Georgia authorities for trying to run for office in Georgia, while claiming that his primary residence is in Texas so he can receive a tax exemption.
“Herschel Walker can’t tell the people of Georgia the truth about anything–even where he lives. He says he’s from Georgia but is getting a tax break on his Dallas house meant only for Texans,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “It’s clear he’s the wrong choice to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate.”
See below for key points:
Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck
11/23/22
-
Republican Herschel Walker is getting a tax break intended only for a primary residence this year on his home in the Dallas, Texas, area, despite running for Senate in Georgia.
-
Publicly available tax records reviewed by CNN’s KFile show Walker is listed to get a homestead tax exemption in Texas in 2022, saving the Senate candidate approximately $1,500 and potentially running afoul of both Texas tax rules and some Georgia rules on establishing residency for the purpose of voting or running for office.
-
Walker registered to vote in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2021 after living in Texas for two decades and voting infrequently. In Texas, homeowner regulations say you can only take the exemption on your “principal residence.”
-
Walker took the tax break in 2021 and 2022 for his Texas home even after launching a bid for Senate in Georgia, an official in the Tarrant County tax assessor office told CNN’s KFile. The Walker campaign did not respond to CNN’s repeated requests for comment. Walker is set to face Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a runoff election in December after neither candidate earned more than 50% of the vote in November’s midterm election.
-
Politicians in the past in Texas have landed in hot water over improperly taking the exemption, including then-Gov. Rick Perry, and have typically agreed to pay back taxes.
-
Questions have swirled around Walker’s residency since he actively began exploring the possibility of a Senate run in Georgia last year, and Democrats and Republicans alike hit Walker over the issue.
-
To run for office and vote in Georgia, 15 rules, not all of which need to be met, are considered for establishing residency, which include where the resident takes their homestead tax exemption and where they intend to live permanently. The US Constitution only requires a potential senator to be an inhabitant of their state when elected.
###