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

DATE: THURSDAY, December 9, 1993                   TAG: 9312090100
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium

TAX RATES RISE IN VIRGINIA

The median tax rate on personal property in cities increased from $2.69 per $100 last year to $2.83, or 5.2 percent, the University of Virginia Center for Public Service found. The median rate in counties rose 7.2 percent, from $2.08 per $100 in 1992 to $2.23 this year. The personal property tax rate is adjusted to account for variations in assessment ratios and sources.

The UVa group, which offered no explanation for the increase, ranked the localities according to their rates. The median rate was the middle number.

The median tax rate on real estate increased one penny - from $1.09 per $100 of assessed value for cities and 66 cents for counties last year to $1.10 for cities and 67 cents for counties in 1993.

Real estate tax rates rose in 14 cities and 32 counties, stayed the same in 24 cities and 54 counties and dropped in three cities and nine counties, according to the 300-page study.

The real estate tax rates ranged from a high of $1.49 in Petersburg to a low of 32 cents in Mecklenburg County. The next-highest rates were $1.45 in Richmond and $1.44 in Manassas Park. The second- and third-lowest rates were 33 cents in Halifax County and 42 cents in Cumberland County.

Real estate and personal property taxes, the only two major local taxes with no state restrictions on rates, accounted for about 47 percent of city tax revenues and 57 percent of county tax revenues.

The median personal property tax on motor vehicles, another important source of local revenue, rose from the previous year for both cities and counties, Knapp said.