As the Times-Mirror recently editorialized, “Judging from the number

As the Times-Mirror recently editorialized, “Judging from the number of people that have called or walked into this newspaper with disbelief etched across their faces, something has gotten out of hand.”

That something is growth run amok. Only five states are growing faster than Virginia. Tysons Corner is now equivalent to Seattle in terms of available office space - but not in terms of amenities, so that people work there want to live most anyplace else; Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock.

Yes, the General Assembly is studying the reassment problem. One solution being considered is to allow county governments to tax ability to pay (e.g. income) rather than real estate - which along with motor vehicles is the only form of wealth now subject to taxation. And, as a matter of fact, the General Assembly apparently is also considering some sort of use value tax system for long-time homeowners.

Which brings us back to use value taxation - taxing land on the basis of what it can produce, rather than on its fair market or speculative value. Some basic points to remember about use value taxation:

• Even with the use value system in place, rural lands cost Rappahannock County only about 15 cents in services for every dollar of taxes they generate;

• Keeping Rappahannock rural is the best way of protecting the tax rate;

• In effect, use value taxation does somewhat shift tax burden from land to buildings - but this includes buildings on farms, bams and silos as well as houses;

• In rural counties like Rappahannock, use value also somewhat shifts the tax burden from larger to smaller tracts, including small farms, so that anyone whose assessment shows relatively large values of building compared to land gets relatively less direct benefit from the use value system - the major benefit being the one we all share in the form of relatively drive up tax bills overall;

• Finally, the only way most