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.

FMI: http://web.culpepercounty.gov/