Tax Type
Local Taxes
Property Tax
Description
Review Date for Delinquent Taxes
Topic
Collection of Delinquent Tax
Local Power to Tax
Local Taxes Discussion
Property Subject to Tax
Date Issued
09-13-1985
[Opinion - Virginia Attorney General: 1985 at 280]
REQUEST BY: Honorable R. W. Arnold, Jr. County Attorney for Louisa County
OPINION BY: Mary Sue Terry, Attorney General
OPINION:
You ask whether a local ordinance adopted under the provisions of Art. 4 of Ch. 32 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to special assessment for land preservation, may provide for the removal from the locality's use value assessment and taxation program of real property on which taxes are delinquent, at a date different from that provided by State law.1
Your question pertains to § 58.1-3235, which provides as follows:
"If on June 1 of any year the taxes for any prior year on any parcel of real property which has a special assessment as provided for in this article are delinquent, the appropriate county, city or town treasurer shall forthwith send notice of that fact and the general provisions of this section to the property owner by first-class mail. If, after the notice has been sent, such delinquent taxes remain unpaid on November 1, the treasurer shall notify the appropriate commissioner of the revenue who shall remove such parcel from the land use program."
Section 58.1-3235 contains no language permitting the locality to change the dates for review of delinquent taxes for purposes of complying with the statutory procedure to remove parcels from the land use program. It clearly establishes June 1 as the date for review of the delinquent taxes "for any prior year." The local ordinance in question, however, provides that if real estate under a land use assessment and taxation ordinance is delinquent as of December 31 of the taxable year, the property is removed from the special assessment and taxation program without notice.
Section 58.1-3231, concerning the authority of a locality to adopt a land use assessment and taxation ordinance, specifically provides that the ordinance must be "in accord with the provisions of this article." Virginia follows the Dillon Rule of strict construction concerning the legislative powers of local governing bodies. See Tabler v. Fairfax County, 221 Va. 200, 269 S.E.2d 358 (1980). Moreover, a local governing body may not enact an ordinance inconsistent with State law. See § 1-13.17; Loudoun County v. Pumphrey, 221 Va. 205, 269 S.E.2d 361 (1980).
Based on the foregoing, it is my opinion that a local ordinance may not alter those dates established for review of tax delinquent property under § 58.1-3235, and the local ordinance about which you inquire therefore is invalid in that regard. The county treasurer must review delinquent taxes for all prior years as of June 1 for purposes of complying with the statutory procedure for notice of delinquencies and removal of parcels from the land use assessment program.
1 Article X, § 2 of the Constitution of Virginia (1971) requires that "[a]ll assessments of real estate and tangible personal property shall be at their fair market value, to be ascertained as prescribed by law." This same section of the Constitution grants to the General Assembly the authority to make an exception to the rule of taxation at fair market value in the case of "real estate devoted to agricultural, horticultural, forest, or open space uses." The exercise of this authority by the General Assembly is subject to the condition that the General Assembly "shall prescribe the limits, conditions, and extent of such deferral or relief."
Attorney General's Opinion