The House Finance Committee began to consider legislation on January 16 with a meeting of its Subcommittee #2, which deals with local taxes, followed by the full Committee’s meeting on January 17. Three bills were reported by the Committee and are headed to the House floor:
- HB 226 (Cherry) was introduced at the request of Chesterfield County and addresses a situation in which the local commissioner of the revenue (or other assessing officer) finds that a local tax has not been assessed, or has been assessed at less than the law required. Under current law, in this case, the commissioner must issue corrected assessments and levy taxes on the new or supplemental assessment. The bill provides flexibility to the local governing body to work with taxpayers who receive a new or supplemental tax bill under these circumstances, and would allow the local governing body to authorize the local treasurer (or other officer responsible for the collection of taxes) to enter into an agreement with the taxpayer to allow payment of the taxes and any penalties and interest over a reasonable period, not to exceed 72 months. VACo spoke in favor of the bill, which is also supported by the Treasurers Association of Virginia.
- HB 258 (Simonds) adjusts the maximum value of certain tax-delinquent real property that may be subject to a nonjudicial sale from $25,000 to $40,000, under certain circumstances (taxes have been delinquent for at least three years, the property is not subject to a recorded mortgage or deed of trust lien, and the property is unimproved, one-half acre or less in size, and located within a designated urban redevelopment or revitalization zone).
- HB 25 (Reid) would make the annual retail sales and use tax holiday permanent, effective July 1, 2025, when the current authorization contained in the Appropriation Act expires. The bill provides that the annual sales tax holiday would take place on the first full weekend in August, beginning August 1, 2025; during this time, retail sales and use tax will not apply to certain school supplies, clothing and footwear, certain energy-efficient products, portable generators, and certain hurricane preparedness equipment.
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee began to consider legislation this week, following a series of subcommittee meetings for briefings on aspects of the introduced budget. SB 116 (Lucas), which was reported by the Committee, is the Senate companion to HB 25. Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee staff also provided a briefing on the Governor’s budget to members on Wednesday; the slides may be found at this link.
VACo Contact: Katie Boyle