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purpose of taxation, and more importantly but not publicly, for estate taxes. Now upon dying your property is conveniently assessed at fair market value, several times the assessed value of only a few years ago. One thing you can count on is being taxed in life, and in death, a-comin’ and a-goin’. Historically, houses have been assessed much more closely to their fair market value than has farm land. If the supervisors had adjusted the tax rate to keep taxes constant upon houses after the implementation of 100 percent fair market value assessment, it would still mean that farmland taxes would increase several fold. So, with this mandated introduction of 100 percent fair market valuation came land use valuation taxation in Rappahannock County, designed to equalize the adverse effects of 100 percent fair market assessments upon genuine farmland. The desired effect was ( to have all people’s taxes remain as close to constant as possible before and after the implementation of 100 percent fair market value assessments.
Finally, you spoke of reassessment. Politicians love to reassess. By doing so they can raise more revenue without raising the tax rate, giving the appearance of fiscal discipline. A low tax rate and high assessment, or a high tax rate and a low assessment, can produce identical results toward funding the required revenues. What reassessments do not alter are the revenues required to cover expenditures. Unfortunately, reassessments never seem fair to everyone and stir up all kinds of unhappiness and problems. They can however keep up with new construction and improvements to existing structures, but that is also accomplished through current building office records and permits. If memory serves me correctly our last assessContinued
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