Travis County Could Seize 4500 Scooters From The Streets Of Austin, Texas

Get our free mobile app

UPDATE:
June 7 17:05 - Bird Rides, Inc. has paid up on their outstanding Travis County property taxes.  This was confirmed through Twitter user Brad Johnson who contacted Bruce Elfant, the county's tax assessor-collector

ORIGINAL STORY:
Bottom line: pay your taxes or your property could be seized! Being a property owner you have a responsibility to pay your taxes, if you don't, there are consequences.

If you've been to a major metro area, there's no doubt you've seen those electric scooters and bikes flying up and down the sidewalks and streets. Users simply activate them using an app on their phone to get from point A to point B and are then charged a usage and by-the-minute fee in most cases. Electric scooters and bikes are extremely convenient, eco-friendly, and quick, but there is an 'ugly' side to them too, users just leave them lying around anywhere and everywhere and apparently the company isn't living up to their civic duty and paying their annual property taxes.

The electric scooter company Bird Rides, Inc. is in a bit of hot water with the Travis County Tax Office because of back taxes. The company owes the county $147,195.17. The company is now five months behind on its property tax payment, which was due on January 31st.

Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant tells Fox 7 Austin, that after multiple letters, emails were sent and phone calls made,

Now the Travis County Tax Office will begin taking legal action against the company to recoup the property tax that is owed to the county. Elfant goes on to say,

We will file a lawsuit and we will get a judgement from the court and then we will search for any property we can seize to satisfy the judgement. We will auction (the scooters) off at the courthouse steps."

Bird Rides, Inc. isn't the only Travis County company that is on the county's delinquent list but is on the list of the top ten offenders skipping out on paying their taxes so far. The county is still trying to collect over $67.7 million dollars in overdue taxes from property owners, both corporate and private homeowners.