Teardown Post

Grantors Tax Increase No Longer in Effect 

For our recent Virginia clients, you may qualify for a refund!

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled this morning that a regional authority created by the General Assembly to levy taxes last year for Northern Virginia transportation projects is unconstitutional. In a unanimous opinion, the court said legislators improperly delegated authority to the unelected members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) to impose seven taxes and fees, including a 500% increase in the grantor’s tax, for funding transportation projects.

The ruling invalidates about $300 million in bonds financed by the taxes. Justice Bernard S. Goodwyn wrote that “the General Assembly has failed to adhere to the mandates of accountability and transparency that the Constitution requires when the General Assembly exercises the legislative taxing authority permitted by the Constitution.” Home sellers who paid the additional increase in the grantors tax this year will need to contact the NVTA for a refund.

To read the Supreme Court opinion, visit http://www.courts.state.va.us/scndex.htm and do a find/search for “071959.”

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