Mon, Jan 23, 2012
Virginia County Assessor Defies Judge's Finding
In a time when declining tax revenues are pinching government
budgets, it may be tempting for bureaucrats charged with assessing
those taxes to be heroic going after every last penny. One pilot
and mechanic in Culpeper County, Virginia holds the tail numbers
and data for two antique aircraft which he says were destroyed
seven decades ago, and which he hopes to one day rebuild.
Commissioner of Revenue Terry Yowell is trying to tax them as
tangible property.
Fredericksburg.com reports Martin Lowe reluctantly paid the
$1,457 he was assessed for the non-existent planes to avoid a
damaging collection attempt but the county, but took the county to
court over the dispute, and won. Last month, Culpeper County
Circuit Judge Jack Berry capped more than three months of
deliberation with a ruling that reads, in part, "The court finds
that the taxpayer has met his burden of proving that the two
aircraft in question do not exist in tangible form and are not,
therefore, subject to local taxation as tangible personal
property."
He also ruled that Lowe should not be forced to de-register his
aircraft specs in order to avoid paying personal property taxes on
them, and ordered the county to reimburse Lowe for the taxes he
paid between 2008 and 2010, which it did. But Yowell still lists
the taxes as in arrears, insists the planes do exist, and hasn't
said whether she'll try to assess them again in 2012. She adds
she's waiting for the FAA to investigate what she apparently sees
as a discrepancy in Lowe's claims.
Lowe's attorney has asked the judge to amend his ruling to
prohibit further attempts to collect the tax, but Berry has
refused, saying the county needs to simply get its records in
order. He's also warned that Yowell could be cited for contempt of
court if she keeps pushing the property taxes on non-existent
property. But in a further complication, Berry is stepping down as
a judge to return to private law practice February 1.
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