By Sara Helfer:
Virginia Question 2, Tax Amendment Exempting Disabled Veterans from the Motor Vehicle Property Tax, is on the November 2020 ballot!
We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude and this measure will help relieve a hardship for many disabled veterans while scarcely affecting state revenues. It is the right thing to do. Join me in voting YES on Amendment 2.
In Virginia, a veteran who has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability is already eligible for a tax exemption on real property, such as homesteads that the veteran occupies as a principal residence. In 2010, voters approved a constitutional amendment that provided for the real property tax exemption. Virginia Question 2, Tax Amendment Exempting Disabled Veterans from the Motor Vehicle Property Tax, closes the loop on eliminating personal property taxes for our 100 percent service-connected disabled veterans.
Presently, local governments can adopt annual taxes that are levied a tangible property tax on a motor vehicle’s value. While the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors had already adopted a lower car tax rate of $0.01 per $100 of assessed value on one motor vehicle owned and regularly used by a qualifying disabled veteran, Question 2 would amend the Virginia Constitution to provide further relief to veterans who have 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disabilities with a tax exemption for one automobile or pickup truck.
The measure would amend Section 6 of Article X of the state constitution, adding the following text:
“(8) One motor vehicle owned and used primarily by or for a veteran of the armed forces of the United States or the Virginia National Guard who has been rated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor agency pursuant to federal law with a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability. For purposes of this subdivision, the term “motor vehicle” shall include only automobiles and pickup trucks. Any such motor vehicle owned by a married person may qualify if either spouse is a veteran who is one hundred percent disabled pursuant to this subdivision. This exemption shall be applicable on the date the motor vehicle is acquired or the effective date of this subdivision, whichever is later, but shall not be applicable for any period of time prior to the effective date.”
The Tax Amendment Exempting Disabled Veterans from the Motor Vehicle Property Tax was originally introduced during the 2019 Legislative Session by Rep. Eileen Filler-Corn and is also supported by Delegate Dan Helmer. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for determining a veteran’s disability rating.
The FCDC Sample Ballot includes a recommendation to Vote YES on the Vehicle Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans Constitutional Amendment.
Sara Helfer is a member of the Springfield District Democratic Committee and serves as the Burke Precinct Captain and the SDDC representative to the Veterans and Military Families Committee. Sara served in the United States Marine Corps from 1999-2007 and her husband serves in the United States Navy Reserve. She comes from a military family, with her brother serving in the United States Army and her father served in the United States Marine Corps.
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