
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990                   TAG: 9006260359
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SALEM ASKS STATE OK FOR PRORATED TAXES

Salem City Council directed the city attorney Monday to draft a resolution urging state legislators to take steps to add Salem to the list of localities that have the right to prorate personal property taxes.

City Manager Randy Smith and Max Brown, Salem's commissioner of revenue, asked council to study the feasibility of prorating the city's personal property taxes. Such action would generate an additional $200,000 to $300,000 in revenue, Smith estimated.

But Salem couldn't enact a proration without the General Assembly first approving an amendment to the state code that would add Salem to the list of localities permitted to take such action, City Attorney Steve Yost said.

"It would probably be January 1992 before you had the option of prorating personal property taxes," Yost said.

Under Salem's current system, a resident could, for example, purchase a car in January 1991 and not pay taxes on it until May of 1992.

Salem's personal property tax rate is $3.25 per $100 of assessed value.

Roanoke County has prorated personal property taxes for several years. Roanoke will begin prorating city personal property taxes in 1991.

***CORRECTION***

Published correction ran on June 27, 1990\ Correction

Because of a reporter's error, a story in Tuesday morning's paper about Salem City Council considering the proration of personal property taxes gave the incorrect personal property tax rate for the city. The tax rate is $3.20 per $100 of assessed value.

Memo: correction

by CNB