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Bird pays nearly $150,000 in delinquent property taxes to avoid seizure of scooters

On June 7, Bird Rides Inc. paid nearly $150,000 in delinquent property taxes to Travis County. The County was preparing to file a lawsuit and seize scooters.

AUSTIN, Texas — The company that owns Bird Scooters has avoided a lawsuit from Travis County leaders that would have resulted in some of its scooters being taken off the streets of Austin.

Bird Rides Inc. had nearly $150,000 in delinquent property taxes but, on Tuesday, the California-based company finally paid it off.

The property taxes were supposed to be paid off by January and leaders with the Travis County Tax Office said Bird had not been returning their calls for the past few months.

If Bird wouldn’t have paid off its taxes, the County would have received a court judgment to seize and auction off enough scooters to fulfill the $150,000 in property taxes.

KVUE spoke to Travis County Tax Accessor Bruce Elfant a few hours before Bird paid its taxes, and this was the result he was looking for.

“We’re certainly hopeful that we'll hear from the Bird scooter people and that we could work something out,” said Elfant. “But if not, state law requires us to litigate and seize property to satisfy the judgment.”

Bird ended up paying all its taxes following this interview, although it was four months late.

On May 18, a list was released of the “Top 10 Delinquent Property Owners” in Travis County, based off property owners who had not paid their property taxes. Bird was on that list but has now paid in full.

Elfant said the property owners on this list, predominantly commercial property owners, received their tax bills in November 2021, did not make a payment by the Jan. 31 deadline and either did not set up a payment plan or make their agreed upon payments after multiple letters and phone calls.

The following list was current on May 18 and shows which companies are in the “Top 10 Delinquent Property Owners” and how much they owed in property taxes that were unpaid for the 2021 year.

  1. WC 1st & Trinity LP - $718,465.44
  2. DJCC Development Corporation - $549,056.52
  3. TX Austin Manor LP – $274,722.75
  4. Optimist Club of North Austin - $223,978.91
  5. WC 2101 W Ben White LP - $163,640.04
  6. CCI Equipment Leasing LLC - $161,280.27
  7. Bird Rides Inc. - $147,195.17
  8. White Rocks Entertainment LLC - $141,223.01
  9. DM Estate LLC - $79,711.61
  10. Nagobich Family Revocable Trust - $76,175.79

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