"SKIPPY" DAVILA, 47, HAS CLAIMED OVER-65 PROPERTY-TAX EXEMPTION LAST 9 YEARS; EVADED $21,837 IN TAXES

By Juan Montoya
Exclusive to El Rrun-Rrun

Tax records and propety-tax statements for the last 9 years indicate that Jose Luis "Skippy" Davila – apart from his homestead exemption – has also claimed an over-65 tax exemption on his Brownsville home, resulting in the loss of approximately $21,837 in revenues to taxing entities, including Cameron County, the City of Brownsville, South Texas ISD, and the Brownsville Independent School District.

Davila, one of three Democratic Party candidates for Cameron County Tax Assessor Collector, faces incumbent Tony Yzaguirre and Eddie Garcia, currently on the board of the BISD, in the Mach 4 primary. Early voting in that race is from February 20 to March 1.

Tax records indicate that Davila and his wife Alejandra bought the home at 38 Shadowbrook Lane in the exclusive Hidden Valley Subdivision in 2014. Records indicate that the previous owner, an elderly woman, was claiming the over-65 exemption and that the exemption was carried over to the couple, resulting in lower taxes on their home – currently valued at $260,477 – and a loss of about $21,837 in revenue to the taxing entities.

In fact, as a result of the bogus over-65 exemption and the  November 7, 2023, voter-approved property-tax relief legislation election, the Davilas paid no taxes to the BISD in 2023. 

        

Cameron County Appraisal District staffers had no explanation why the Davilas were granted the exemption since Davila – at the time the couple bought the home in 2014 – was 37 years old. Today, he is 47. His wife Alejandra is one year younger than him.

"I really can't tell you how his could happen," said a CCAD employee. "To get the exemption you have to fill out a form to claim it."

The form where the homestead and over-65 exemption is claimed also includes a warning for homeowners that under Texas law,  making a false statement on the application form could result in being charged with a Class A misdemeanor or a state jail felony under Penal Code Section 37.10.

Below is a year-by-year summary of Davila's over-65 exemption and what he would have paid without it. Over the last nine years, that exemption has cost taxing entities a total of $21,937.

                 

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One would think that as an accountant and a former employee with the Brownsville Independent School District who claims in his candidate web site that he worked with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and with political campaigns where he claims he worked "handling all the accounting and expenditures" he would have noticed the property-tax exemptions in his annual property-tax bills.

"You can understand, maybe one year or two at the beginning," said a worker at the tax assessor-collector's office. "But no one – especially someone who claims an accounting background and who claims he worked at the IRS – would overlook an exemption like that for all those years."

There was also something curious about Davila's property-tax records. Tax receipts indicate that Davila paid his property taxes in cash, an unusual practice for someone who claims an accounting background and their predilection for documentation. 

Yzaguirre, when asked about the apparent irregularities in Davila's property tax record, said that he – like any property owner who faced a similar situation – should try to make arrangements with the tax collector's office or risk having the case referred to the Cameron County District's Attorney's Office for their consideration in prosecuting Penal Code violations.

"Our office is available and ready to assist all taxpayers to straighten out their property-tax issues," he said, "including Mr. Davila. If there are others in a similar situation, I suggest they make an appointment with our office to straighten the matter. The consequences could be serious."