Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992 TAG: 9201080335
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
LOCAL-TAX STUDY CITES WIDE RANGE
The typical local tax paid during the past year ranged from $244 in Dickenson County to $2,629 in Fairfax County, a University of Virginia study found."This shows the real estate tax is by far the most important for local revenues," John Knapp, an economist with UVa's Center for Public Service, said Tuesday.
The real estate tax accounts for at least 70 percent of an individual's local tax bill and is the source local governments turn to when under stress to balance budgets, he said. "The real property tax seems to be one of the few ways available to raise significant revenue."
The tax study, the first of its kind undertaken by the center in more than a decade, includes rates for all Virginia cities, counties and towns. The analysis covers taxes paid directly by individuals according to their place of residence. It does not include local business and sales taxes because it's too difficult to determine how many local residents pay them, Knapp said.
"A meals tax in Roanoke, for instance, is imposed on restaurant patrons who dine in the city, but not all of those patrons are going to be residents of Roanoke," he said.
Wide variations in local tax bases across Virginia account for much of the range, Knapp said. The extent of government services provided in return, including quality of schooling, was not taken into account.
The study estimated two typical tax bills for cities and counties.
One uses a local standard that applies a different tax base for each tax according to local property tax values and income levels, Knapp said.
The other uses a statewide standard that applies a single tax base for each tax.
It is based on a person who earns $31,061, owns a house worth $91,000, has personal property worth $5,363, and owns two vehicles.
With the local tax bases held constant, differences in local tax rates would put the highest tax bills in Richmond, Petersburg, Norfolk and Chesapeake among cities and in Prince William, Fairfax and Roanoke counties.
Generally, the highest taxes are paid in Northern Virginia and the other major metropolitan areas, and the lowest taxes are in far Southwest and Southside Virginia.
\ REAL ESTATE TAXES
PER HOMEOWNER WITH STATE RANKING
\ Bedford $412 41
Bedford Co. $501 42
Bland $368 71
Botetourt $608 30
Buchanan $319 85
Carroll $258 92
Craig $350 78
Floyd $447 55
Franklin $445 56
Giles $433 59
Henry $364 73
Lexington $871 19
Montgomery $599 31
Patrick $344 80
Pulaski $488 45
Radford $590 33
Roanoke $807 24
Roanoke Co. $1,030 9
Rockbridge $528 36
Salem $862 21
Tazewell $346 79
Wise $287 90
Wythe $392 66