Northern Virginia residents rushed to pay the levy on cars, trailers, planes, boats and other vehicles Friday as the deadline for the personal tax came and went. The much bemoaned tax is a major moneymaker for local governments, though its revenue pales in comparison to real estate taxes. In Fairfax County, the personal property tax produces about 15 percent of the government’s money each year.
Those who missed Friday’s deadline face extra penalties. Localities can assign a 10 percent penalty for late payers, and governments may opt to seize money or property to collect taxes that are long enough overdue.
How Virginia counties assess the “car tax” was overhauled under Gov. Jim Gilmore, who made reforming the revenue source part of his campaign for governor in the late 1990s. He signed the Personal Property Tax Relief Act into law in 1998, which offered a reprieve from the tax to some motorists.
The move may have had some negative consequences, according to Arthur Purves, an anti-tax activist in Fairfax County, who points to the increases in real estate tax bills he pins on local governments.
“The so called roll-back in the car tax was used as an excuse to raise real estate taxes,” he said.
