The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Over protests from business groups, a Senate subcommittee passed a measure 6-1 that would allow localities to exempt up to 20 percent of a home's value from real estate taxes.
Tuesday morning's vote was the first action during this year's General Assembly session on the proposal popularly known as the "homestead exemption." If the constitutional amendment, which has support from Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, passes, it would go before voters as a referendum this year.
A House of Delegates subcommittee will take up the same proposal today.
Business interests opposed it because they said it would shift the tax burden from residential to commercial properties.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
PANDEMIC
Tax-a-phobia reaches pandemic proportions in Virginia!
Who will pay?
We can already see the debacle this initiative will become. Every homeowner will expect a 20% reduction in the real estate taxes they pay; of course, that is not what the exemption would do. Those who feel that education, public safety, human services, and courts and justice are important will have to rally to restore the $60,000,000 lost the first year to this initiative in VB, and of course Council will have to cope with replacing the $30,000,000 that the public schools will lose by virture of the formula. And of course, with assessments going down, the rate will now have to go up so much that I suspect homeowners will still pay either higher real estate taxes, or they will pay higher personal property taxes, fees for garbage collection ($20/month/household) higher utility fees, and of course will pay more for goods and services since businesses will pay an estimated 30% more in real estate taxes. When this is over, both City Council and the General Assembly will look like dolts; no voters will be pleased and most will be very angry.
Thank you, Captain Obvious
TJ, I know how taxes work, but my point is business owners usually remain silent about runaway government spending, especially when they're the ones who benefit while insisting that taxes be shifted elsewhere. You can't have one without the other. Oh, and let's not forget how these business's look at thier employees and "the jobs they created for them"-like Lillian Vernon who axed a bunch just days before Christmas.
I would also point out that my hometown of Virginia Beach has spent MILLIONS on projects that defied the wishes of the people in order to make the hotel/motel owners happy-that's corporate welfare no matter how you look at it. They raise the resturant tax so tourisim will "pick up the cost", but that is only 33% of the resturant taxes-where does the rest come from? RESIDENTS.
Hey Mike, WHERE'S THE BLIGHT?
Ignorence is bliss, isn't it?
You all are somewhat incorrect in your thinking. They can reduce the value of your home, but it doesn't say anything about what localities can charge per $100 of value does it? For example, take a house valued at $100,000 with a tax rate of $1 per $100 of value. Play the game of reducing the value to $50,000, but chage $2 per $100 of value and there is no difference - you still pay $1000 in taxes. As for the businesses and tax breaks SOMETIMES afforded to them - I ask you this, do you want a means of earning a living? Tax breaks are common for wooing business from one state to another. The gain? Employment. The more companies we have with jobs to offer the more empowered we are in working for people / companies we like. Believe it or not, the larger the tax base is and the lower our taxes ultimately are. This bill is pure fluff. It means nothing. A better idea is for ALL of us (that understand money) to take the time to get more involved in our local govts and demand that they don't waste our money.
Well gee whiz,
Awwww, business might actually have to start paying more taxes? What about all of the corporate welfare and sweetheart deals that business owners and developers have been getting at taxpayer expense courtesy of their lapdogs in local government? I think that's called "corporate welfare"
Just because business's will have to "pass on" the costs, there's nothing that says I have to buy whatever it is you're selling, is there?
I also find it ironic that the business community isn't demanding that government reign in their spending, they're complaining about where the money will come from-that's very telling. I guess it would mean less in sweetheart deals and special consideration for your interests, huh?
Business owners have been getting special tax breaks and incentives for years leaving little room for government to provide the services that they should, "the money isn't in the budget". Developers have been getting more of the same, all the while, driving the prices of real estate and housing to virtually out of reach levels for many while doing nothing to build housing that these working poor can afford to rent or buy despite the high demand for it.
And before I forge
Don't see a problem
I don't see why this isn't a good idea. Commercial properties should always be taxed at a higher rate than residential properties. Residential properties are where those on fixed incomes are living and have no way of controlling the factors that raise their assessments.
Businesses can pass on the costs to their customers. However the customers ALWAYS have the option of getting those services from somewhere else.
What I actually see is the local cites NOT giving tax breaks to businesses to locate in their city since they won't have the funds to do that with. Tax breaks that forgive the property tax on the commercial properties will have to stop.
That's the way it used to be...
10 years ago when I bought my house, it was only assessed at 80%. When the car tax was supposedly abolished, the rate was increased to 100%. The car tax is back, and NO businesses lowered their costs, so it's about time the tax was rolled back.
As far as runaway spending goes, perhaps we could take back all the tax dollars that are used for commercial development. After all, the cities don't lend money to home buyers.
Shell Game
Blatantly irresponsible. Why elect Senators who act that way? First, the tax rate will have to go up so high to make up for reduced assessments that actual taxes paid will go up anyway. Secondly, renters, who need relief the most, will pay much higher taxes so millionaires can take European vacations. Third, higher taxes on commercial real estate will simply be passed through to consumers. Fourth, since economic development is the key to keeping real estate taxes under control, now cities will compete for new business by competing on the issue of commercial property taxes just like they do on boat taxes. This initiative is a liar and a thief; it steals money from needed local government programs and it promises relief when property owners will simply pay in costs for goods and services. And we elected these Senators for what reason?
Taxes
Dr. Tabor - here here. You hit the nail smack dab on the head!!!!!
This isn't tax reduction...
Its tax concealment.
Shifting the tax burden to business will simply raise prices for goods and services we buy, hiding the tax burden from sight, but not reducing it.
Instead of paying your taxes in your mortgage payment, you will pay it at the grocery store, when you fix your car or go to the doctor.
This is just a ruse by the localities to get the anti property tax organizations off their backs without having to reduce their runaway spending.