Nadine Stoner / LVT Enablement Bill for Fairfax -- 2001

SCI LIBRARY

LVT Enablement Bill for Fairfax

Nadine Stoner

[Reprinted from GroundSwell, 2001]

On February 19, Virginia Governor Mark Warner signed HB 239, reports Josh Vincent, President of the Center for the Study of Economics. For the first time in Virginia, there is legislation that permits Fairfax City to enact Land Value Taxation (LVT). The bill takes effect July 1, 2003.

Many congratulations to CSE Pres. Joshua Vincent and to all the others involved in their persistent effort to get the enabling legislation enacted.

The Virginia Senate had on February 7 unanimously passed HB 239, though it was opposed, reports Vincent, by "some big bucks developers and a few misguided horsey-set types." The bill had been boosted out of the Senate Committee by Committee Chairman John Chichester (a Republican who has an office in Geoist Stew Engel's district) and Senator Saslow (a Democrat from Georgist Joe Casey's district.) Georgist Carl Shaw, Charlottesville, VA, had made sure that his Delegate Van Jahres was informed about LVT. Vincent also lauds Dr. Fred Foldvary, who changed some minds with his efforts in Fredericksburg, and Dr. Nicolaus Tideman, who came to Richmond and testified before committees, had one-on-one sessions with legislators, and testified before the Virginia House.

Passage of HB 239 was particularly elating to Fairfax Councilman Tony Coughlan, who had been pushing for Fairfax LVT enablement since 1996. (See Sept.-Oct. 1999 GroundSwell.) Since 1997, CSE and Henry George Foundation of America have assisted, writing, faxing, emailing and visiting Richmond several times on behalf of LVT enablement for Fairfax. In the last legislative session, a LVT enabling bill made it through the Legislature and to Gov. Gilmore's desk, but he vetoed it. LVT proponents then had to start the legislative process again with this legislative session.

Since its introduction on January 9, 2002, of HB 239 by Patron J. Chapman Peterson (a former colleague of Tony Coughlan's on the City Council), Coughlan and Vincent have meticulously tracked the progress of the bill. It had been reported out of the House Finance Committee on Jan. 21 and engrossed by the House on Jan. 23.

The law now enacted under HB 239 amends the Code of Virginia, Article 3, by adding a section numbered 58.1-3221.1, "Other Exemptions, Credits, Partial Abatement, Apportionments, Classifications":

A. In the City of Fairfax improvements to real property are declared to be a separate class of property and shall constitute a separate classification for local taxation of real property.

B. The governing body of the City of Fairfax may levy a tax on the property enumerated in subsection A at a different rate than the tax imposed upon the land on which it is located, provided that the rate of tax on the property described in subsection A shall not be zero and shall not exceed the rate of land on the land on which it is located.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the City of Fairfax to alter in any way its valuation of real property covered by this section.