In 1989, Jim Gilmore campaigned for Governor of Virginia on the promise that he would eliminate the hated “car tax”; the personal property tax that all Virginians pay based on the value of their automobile. It was a masterful campaign tacitic. Virginians hate the car tax and Gilmore won easily. When he got into office, though, Gilmore learned about political reality. The Personal Property Tax was not eliminated, but it was scaled back significantly to the point where many Virginians paid little or nothing when the tax was due every October. Now, it looks like even that compromise could be coming to an end for some Virginians:
Come October when personal property tax bills arrive in the mail, about half the vehicle owners in Arlington County are likely to have a big question: Whatever happened to Virginia’s “no car tax” promise?
Their car tax bills will be going up. In some cases, way up. Tax bills will more than double for those who own cars valued at $20,000, from $251 last year to $510.
The reason for the increase is complicated, involving state budget politics, Arlington’s bid to keep wages competitive and the County Board’s desire to promote progressive policies that ease the tax burden on lower-income residents.
Once again, tax law is being used not to raise revenue, which is what it exists for, but to promote Arlington County’s idea of what a fair social policy is. Considering that this is coming out of Arlington, its not entirely surprising that its happening, but it is still distressing to see politicians so easily abandoning their promises.
“We’re trying to apply an equity principle to taxation. The basic principle is, how much you pay in taxes should be related to your ability to pay,” said County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman (D). “There’s an unmistakable correlation between the value of automobiles and people’s ability to pay. Granted, it’s not perfect. But people of lower income generally aren’t driving around in $30,000 sports cars.”
People driving those high-end cars will pay $1,500 in car taxes this year, $180 more than last year.
The increases are a result of two factors: The County Board voted to raise the personal property tax rate from 4.4 percent per $100 of assessed value to 5 percent. Arlington is the only Northern Virginia jurisdiction to have raised its rate.
Again, not surprising considering we’re talking about Arlington. Of course, not everyone is drinking the progressive taxation Kool-Aid:
“This was supposed to be a tax that nobody liked, and we were supposed to be getting rid of it. In Arlington, it’s going the other direction,” said Wayne Kubicki, a Republican who until last week was a member of the county’s Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission.
Kubicki criticized the new formula, as well as the increases, and blamed them on the board’s unwillingness to cut spending, which increased by 9 percent in the new budget.
“In an $800 million budget, there had to be someplace where at least some of it could have been offset,” he said
You would think so, wouldn’t you ?
