Car TAX is going up in Botetourt

Expect to pay a little more when the tax bill arrives for your vehicle this year.

The Board of Supervisors heard from Finance Manager Tony Zerrilla that because of projected vehicle values and the amount of tax relief provided by the state, the citizens’ share of the Personal Property Tax on their vehicles would be 54 percent. Last year the citizens’ share was 48 percent.

The Virginia Legislature passed the Personal Property Tax Relief Act in 2005, and the county ordinance addresses the use of a state block grant of $3.4 million that the county has received annually. The grant offsets the cost of personal property taxes on motor vehicles. The state grant amount has not changed in the last 15 years.

The car tax relief is for vehicles valued from $1,001 to $20,000, with no tax on vehicles having a value of $1,000 or less. However, the county has increased in population, meaning more cars, and the value of vehicles has increased. For these and other reasons, the fixed amount has reduced from the state’s target of 70 percent when it initially passed the law to a smaller percentage as the years have passed and the state has not revisited the issue.

Zerrilla noted that this year in particular the value of used cars has gone up considerably due to the lack of available new cars, which media reports indicate is because of interruptions in global supply chains.

                                                            — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee, file photo The Botetourt Bee