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By RICHARD TALIAFERRO
Capital News Service
RICHMOND — If death and taxes remain as life's only certainties, then personal property taxes must be a guarantee that most people could do without.
"The personal property tax has been in continuous use since 1654,” said Sen. Charles J. Colgan, DManassas. "The time has come for a change."
Sen. Colgan proposes an increase in the state's sales tax to 6 percent from 4.5 percent while reducing the amount of property tax a locality can receive to 20 percent.
But proponents and opponents had their say about repealing the tax at a special public hearing Tuesday, Jan. 21, in Richmond. Even though they attempted to sway the minds of the Senate Finance Committee, it is the Revenue Resources Subcommittee that will consider the issue next Wednesday, Jan. 29.
During the hearing, the bill's supporters pointed to the frequent dodging of the payment and the hardship it creates for many people, while foes sought to show how revenue losses would hurt localities.
"The only local tax that generates revenue more than the levied personal property tax is the real estate tax,” said James S. Harris, mayor of Blackstone and president of the Virginia Municipal League. "None of the other taxes we are allowed to levy come close to generating the same amount of revenue that these two taxes do.
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