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RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – A new proposal is emerging in the debate over providing Richmond homeowners with some tax relief.
“A lot of residents right now are dealing with the pinch on their wallets. With assessments, inflation, gas prices, food prices, and so we’re going to do our best to understand what our options are to support what we control,” said Andreas Addison, Richmond City Council.
A potential $0.04 real estate tax credit refund is on the table. Details are expected to emerge during a city finance committee meeting Thursday.
But here’s the math. Take the average home price right now in Richmond, which is $340,000. If approved, that homeowner would get back $136.
The new idea will now compete with other proposals to lower the tax rate in Richmond from $1.20 to either $1.16 or $1.10 per 100 dollars of assessed value. But those proposals would not go into effect until January.
“What we are going to do is look at immediate fixes, things we have as options today. I think a real estate tax credit refund would be one of the options I think is more quickly done, rather than looking at a tax rate reduction,” said Addison.
Rising assessments are forcing councilors and city hall to devise a plan. On average, city assessments went up 13%. But many areas like Manchester and Forest Hill saw more significant increases.
“I would rather focus on first what can be done tomorrow, and I think a real estate tax credit refund would be the best place to start because that’s something we can start processing for payments tomorrow,” said Addison.
Councilor Addison also says the results of a land value tax study will come back early next year. That would be a way to tax land and improvements, like the home on it, at different rates.
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