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I greatly appreciate the fact
that Governor Gilmore has focused General Assembly and public attention on the inequities of the property tax system as it presently exists in Virginia — and ask Delegate Jay Katzen and Senator Kevin Miller to lead in going beyond repeal of the car tax to repeal or at least vastly restructure our system of real property taxes as well.
Real Estate taxes are far more inequitable than car taxes. The real estate tax is an outdated remnant of our agrarian past — of a time when ownership of real estate was at least some measure of ability to pay, and of a time when “free holders” were given more power in our system of government than was granted to citizens who did not own real estate.
Our current real estate tax system is patently inequitable. It is inequitable because the real estate tax is a tax on assets or wealth — but a tax that is not levied on any other form of wealth. Why should I have to pay an annual ad valor em tax on my woodland, but no similar tax on other forms of wealth (bank accounts, stock portfolios, gold coins) into which I could convert that woodland? How would your constituents react if you introduced legislation requiring them to give one percent of their bank accounts to their local government every Dec. 5? And if local governments need a new gold mine, why not authorize them to levy ad valor em taxes on mutual fund holdings?
As 1997 chairman of the Rappahannock County Board of Assessors, I can assure you that the real property tax system is also internally inequitable. Of course our county supervisors and assessors attempt to be as fair as possible. We employ a professional appraisal firm that conducts reassessments for about 40 percent of Virginia local governments.
But it seems clear to me
90.9%