NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk City Council approved a measure to help with personal property tax relief at a Tuesday, March 22 meeting.
According to the city council, the ordinance waives the vehicle license fee for the 2022 calendar year. This temporary action will apply to personal and business motor vehicles and motorcycles, and will be reflected in this year's personal property tax bills.
The waiver will result in an overall savings for taxpayers of approximately five million dollars.
The city's decision comes after Commissioners of the Revenue across Hampton Roads warned of potential personal property tax spikes caused by increases in the value of vehicles. According to Phil Kellam, commissioner of the revenue for the city of Virginia Beach, the increase is due to COVID-related issues, including microchip shortages, causing the value of vehicles to skyrocket.
In a phone conversation, the Hampton Commissioner of the Revenue Ross Mugler said that every locality in the area will probably see a tax increase of 26 to 42%.
According to Mugler, the three options to help mitigate the increases are to change the tax rate, reduce the assessment ratio or pass a bill in the General Assembly to send refunds to taxpayers.
For the City of Norfolk, personal property tax bills will be mailed to taxpayers in April and will be due by June 5.
