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5 ! Continued from page 4 ;not the only possible way for Rappabannock to raise revenue. Here are a jfew of the possible alternatives: 1 Schedule a hearing in Rich: mond to request reassessment of our , composite index ranking. Our super' visors should lead a convoy of Rap: pahannock citizens, especially ■ T****®*®* protest unfair treatment > due to an unfair formula.
2. Actively consider alternate • means of raising funds from out-ofcounty individuals and those in the ; county most able to pay. There are ; three specific possibilities: | Institute a 4 percent meal and transient tax. Culpeper now has j ?uch a tax and they expect it to bring ; ® $385,000 this year. The merchant most vocal in opposition to the tax when it was first proposed has recently said it has not hurt his busi; ness one bit. The tax is reportedly , not difficult to administer and would raise funds mainly from people who ! come to Rappahannock as tourists. ; (In feet it is perhaps the only way to tax tourism—one of Rappahannock’s major industries—short of putting ; up toll booths.)
Enact a land transfer tax. When* ever land is transferred in Rappa; hannock there is a deed filed in the : appropriate county office. There would be virtually no additional ! work involved in collecting a trans! fer tax at this time. Our supervisors should review the values of land transferred in the last year or two and establish an appropriate tax rate, perhaps between 1 and 2 percent. Presumably someone wealthy enough to buy property can afford to -help the county pay for animal shel.ters and teachers’ salaries.
Consider an annual business and professional tax. The state has a formula for the maximum allowable ; B&P tax rate. I suggest we consider a simple law based on the number of employees: fewer than 5 employees, $100; 6 to 10 employees, $150; more than 10 employees, $200. This tax would address businesses in proportion to their size, and might save one or two cents on our real estate tax rate.
There are ways to raise revenues without increasing real estate taxes. Let’s take advantage of these so that we can pay teachers a fair salary, take care of our trash problems, and meet whatever other needs arise, without penalizing our farmers and fixed income citizens. -mv „ BARNEY O’MEARA
-< Slate Mills
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