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and open space be taxes “as resources, not as commodities.” He recalled that the head of the State Department of Taxation's property tax division had cautioned the supervisors that without use value, the county’s new assessments would cause a radical shift of the tax burden onto raw land. Experience in other localities has shown that even with use value, farmers subsidize homeowners by generating more revenue than the cost of services they receive from a county, according to Dennis.
Miriam Harris told the supervisors that for the past 25 years, she has attempted to make her living at farming. Increased taxes would make it impossible for her to continue or to pass her land on to young people who want to farm, she said. "Mr. Eastham counted the farmers in Rappahannock but not the farm workers," Harris pointed out, noting that the agricultural industry provides employment for many who aren’t land owners.
After affirmation that (1) subdivision into parcels smaller than 50 acres is prohibited in ag districts and (2) that review of such districts is required by law every four to eight years, the supervisors voted unanimously to approve the East Wakefield Agricultural and Forestal District. No action was taken to direct any further study on the issue of use value taxation.
63.6%