A Matter of Perspective
As reported in both the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Roanoke Times, the effort to provide tax relief to Virginia's residential homeowners through the “homestead exemption” (SJ6) ground to a halt yesterday in the Virginia General Assembly’s Senate Finance Committee on an 8-8 vote.
A constitutional amendment passed in the 2007 General Assembly, and must be passed a second time before it can be put on the ballot in November 2008. Last week, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates voted unanimously to pass their version of the bill. However, Sen. Chuck Colgan (D-Manassas), committee chairman, “cast the swing vote on the panel, which otherwise voted along party lines,” reported the Roanoke Times.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported:
“Industrial and corporate interests oppose the amendment, fearing it could drive up their taxes. The Council on State Taxation, a business organization, described the proposal as a ‘tax shift, not a tax cut.’”
In their reporting, the Roanoke Times wrote:
“Colgan, who also voted against the amendment last year, said he shared concerns raised by business leaders. Even though the amendment merely gives localities the option of offering the tax break, Colgan said political pressure would be hard for local governments to withstand.”
For Arlington, tax relief was needed earlier in the decade when assessments were skyrocketing, but what is really needed is a means of controlling local spending.