 Because property owners are usually reluctant to risk losing their holding due to unpaid property tax bills, credit rating agencies often consider a general obligation pledge to have very strong credit quality and frequently assign them investment grade ratings.If local property owners do not pay their property taxes on time in any given year, a government entity is required to increase its property tax rate by as much as is legally allowable in a following year to make up for any delinquencies.In the interim between the taxpayer delinquency and the higher property tax rate in the following year, the general obligation pledge requires the local government to pay debt service coming due with its available resources.