Seeing the forest through the tax trees
Ihave been reading some of the Foothills reports on the tax system here in Rappahannock County. Overlooking the many subjective comments about the system being unfair, I think the larger fault with the study is the inability to see the forest for the trees. Like other county residents I have, in the past, complained about the taxes and their unending march upward. Unmet promises from the BOS that when the reassessments are completed, they will reset the rate is another area that has been the subject of my concerns. But look at the bigger picture.
Much of what I love about Rappahannock has to do with the open spaces. The land use tax system has, in my humble opinion, been one of the major factors that has kept much of the land in the county open, to the bene t of us all. If you take away the land use provisions from larger land owners, you will ultimately wind up with ticky-tacky houses on every beautiful hay eld. As the report points out, Rappahannock real estate taxes are higher than surrounding counties, and that makes perfect sense.
Our property values are higher than the surrounding counties.
The $500,000 that might buy you a reasonable little abode in Rappahannock will buy you a small farm in Page County. And that is not a dig at our neighbors in Page. It is a beautiful place.
It is just the current truth when it comes to the property values in this part of the Commonwealth.
I wish I knew more about taxation and property values. I wish I had some alternative to suggest that everyone would like better than what we have. My only comment is that the present system has worked for a long time. It gives all of us open spaces and beautiful views to enjoy. The major players and decision makers in Rappahannock should look long and hard before they try to “x” what some view as a problem. As for me, I am going to break into my little piggy bank and head over to the county o ces and pay my taxes.