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A wise decision
At a meeting held last Thursday, Rappahannock’s board of supervisors decided to make only minor adjustments in the formula for determining use value taxation of the county’s farm, orchard and forest land.
We commend and support the decision of the board.
The county is faced with a major revenue crisis, which will only deepen over the next few years unless adjustments are made to the tax structure. Unfortunately, local governments are severely limited in their options by the taxing powers authorized by the state’s General Assembly.
Suggestions were heard from some quarters that the rate structure of the land use system, which can only be revised during reassessment years, should be drastically increased.
True, that would have given the county some extra, and badly needed, revenue.
True, there are loopholes in the land use legislation which allow some unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of the tax incentives for their own benefit.
But, drastic revisions would have also increased the already enormous pressures on the county’s farmers and orchardists, perhaps providing more encouragment for them to give into those who would purchase, subdivide and develop their agricultural land into residential areas, reaping , enormous profits for the developers and their backers in the ^ process.
The result, for the county, would be a larger population which would require more services, creating a vicious spiral of demands which would, in all likelihood, leave the county’s revenue situation in worse shape than it is now.
This newspaper has stood behind, and will continue to champion, agriculture as the backbone of the rural environment which the citizens of Rappahannock County have cherished for many generations. Only by providing incentives for those who are attempting to maintain this agricultural heritage can we hope to deal responsibly with the pressures for development.
The county’s officials understand that, and deserve the support of the county’s citizens in their efforts to preserve these traditional land uses and values.
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