Did Herschel Walker stiff-arm Tarrant taxpayers while running for Senate in Georgia?

If he’s elected to the Senate, Herschel Walker may owe you some money.

And no, this is not one of those weird, reverse-psychology campaign fundraising messages. Walker, the former Dallas Cowboys star, has long lived in Westlake. But as he heads toward Tuesday’s runoff with Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, Walker is facing questions about whether his Tarrant County homestead exemption means he’s not really a resident of the Peach State.

Walker, a Republican, claimed the homestead exemption for both 2021 and 2022. It saves him in local government property taxes on his suburban home, which has an assessed value of nearly $3.4 million.

The issue is that Walker registered to vote in Georgia in August 2021, using the address of a property he owns there. Texas law says that if a home is your residence as of Jan. 1, you’re entitled to the exemption for the year, so 2021 isn’t really an issue.

But 2022 is a different matter. Either Walker lived here on Jan. 1 or he wasn’t a resident of Georgia while running for its Senate seat. Georgia voters can decide the importance of the residency question. For many, the fact that he was born and raised there and starred on a championship University of Georgia football team is more than enough.

But Walker has complicated the matter, in part by declaring this year — while campaigning before Georgia voters — that “I live in Texas.”

If that’s true, he’s got some explaining to do, and voters deserve an answer before Tuesday’s runoff. If he truly moved, Walker should owe the city of Westlake and the Keller school district for the taxes exempted. The city offers a generous 20% exemption, meaning that share of the property’s value is not taxed. Keller ISD offers the standard $40,000 exemption. So, between the city and school district, Walker is saving a little over $1,500.

Granted, it’s not much for entities that collect millions a year. But there’s an important principle at work. The homestead exemption is important for average homeowners. In many cases, especially as property taxes spiral in our growing areas, it might make the difference between being able to afford a tax bill or not. When others exploit tax exemptions they’re not entitled to, it costs the rest of us just a little bit more. The Tarrant Appraisal District should follow up and pursue taxes properly owed.

Of course, if Walker is playing games with the residency issue to trim his tax liability, he’s far from alone. Plenty of wealthy property owners take the exemption on whichever property will save them the most, knowing that there’s no real enforcement mechanism. Most just don’t draw attention to it by running for office in another state.

Walker would be far from the first politician tripped up, though. In 2009, Gov. Rick Perry had to pay a small additional school property tax when it was discovered that he took the exemption on a property in College Station while living and working, of course, in Austin.

Residency questions are even more common: Candidates often try to catch rivals living outside of their district in, say, city council or school board races. It’s rarer in a statewide contest. Recent arrivals can bring charges of political opportunism, but for well-known candidates — think Hillary Clinton running for Senate from New York in 2000 — it’s often merely a speed bump.

Walker appears unlikely to address the issue publicly in his campaign’s final days. He could, of course, note that Texas law allows a homestead exemption to continue if the owner moves but intends to return to state residency within two years. That would be tantamount to admitting he expects to lose, and Walker has enough political problems.

If he wins, he should drop the exemption and pay the full bill. And if he loses, well — the issue will be settled if he’s tempted by Texas’ 2024 or 2026 Senate races.