Residents facing higher local vehicle property tax bills

Aug. 30—BLUEFIELD — The increased "book value" of vehicles is impacting residents in both Virginias this year as they get ready to pay higher personal property taxes.

Counties assess the value of vehicles based on updated NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) figures and the value of cars and trucks nationwide has skyrocketed because of the shortage of new and used vehicles.

According to Consumer Price Index figures, used car prices are over 40 percent higher than they were before the pandemic (first quarter of 2020).

The shortage of new cars is the result of production slowing during the pandemic and the ensuing scarcity of computer chips. This created an increased demand for used vehicles.

Virginia residents see a smaller impact from the vehicle tax than West Virginia residents since Virginia started picking up about half the tab several years ago under the Jim Gilmore administration.

Not only that, the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors voted in June to assess vehicles at 90 percent of the market value this year rather than 100 percent, giving residents a break, said Tazewell County Treasurer David Larimer.

"That will help some," he said. "If the NADA value is $20,000, the assessment will drop to $18,000.

But the state's PPTR (Personal Property Tax Relief) program helps a great deal, he added.

The program was started to help relieve residents of the vehicle personal property tax burden by reimbursing counties for any revenue lost, which amounts to about $2.7 million a year for the county, Larimer said.

For example, he said the tax for a 2015 Nissan Rogue last year was about $175, but the owner paid only $89 with the state picking up the rest.

Condition and high mileage can also be factors to help lower the vehicle tax.

Anita McReynolds, Chief Deputy Commissioner of Revenue for Tazewell County, said the county is running the personal property tax assessments for vehicles next week so she is not yet sure what the average increase in the tax will be for residents after the hike in vehicle values is factored in.

"We have to do this within 90 days after the board of supervisors pass the budget," she said, and that happened in June.

Larimer said the resulting tax bills for this year (on vehicles registered in the county on Jan. 1) will be mailed out on Oct. 10 and due on Dec. 5.

In Mercer County, the situation is the same as far as increased assessed values of vehicles and higher personal property tax bills, but the tax rate is much higher and the state does not pick any of the tab.

Commissioner of Revenue Lyle Cottle said in a previous story the average tax ticket on a vehicle in Mercer County is based on a percentage of book value and is about $450, and can be over $2,000 on more expensive vehicles, with differing taxes if located inside city limits.

Those bills will rise, he said, as NADA figures are being updated every day.

Members of the West Virginia Senate want to change that and eliminate the tax, reimbursing counties for the lost revenue.

However, an amendment to the state Constitution giving legislatures the authority to eliminate the tax, as well as the business equipment and inventory tax, is on the November ballot for voters to decide.

If it does pass, whether the Senate will be able to get enough legislators and Gov. Jim Justice on board to eliminate those taxes remains to be seen.

All Mercer County Commissioners oppose the amendment, saying there must be a guarantee of an ongoing revenue stream to cover the $11 million the county would lose if the taxes are eliminated, money that is used for schools, law enforcement, parks and other services.

They want to see legislators formulate a plan before the Nov. 8 election.

Statewide, counties would lose more than $515 million, which the state would have to reimburse to make the counties whole.

In the meantime, residents not only have to deal with higher vehicle prices, but also the higher property taxes on them.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com