LETTER: Why is my tax bill so high?

You may recall the speculation in the newspapers earlier this year about the average Prince William taxpayer paying $400-$500 less on his or her real estate tax bill in 2009. When the Board of County
Supervisors approved the rate of $1.212 per $100 of assessed valuation of my home and lot, I did the math and, sure enough, I believed I was going to pay some $600 less in real estate taxes compared
to last year. Boy, was I stupid.

It turns out my tax bill was $261 less than last year. That is a nice reduction to be sure, especially when surrounding jurisdictions were not as fortunate. But why wasn’t it the $600 I expected? A review of
my real estate tax bill revealed the answer. Sure enough, there is a base tax rate of $1.212. But then the tax bill starts to read like my phone bill or my cable bill. In addition to the base rate, we pay a fire
and rescue levy, a gypsy moth levy, an annual storm water fee and an annual solid waste fee. A summation of these five items is what you and I actually pay. The bottom line appears to show a defacto
tax rate of $1.317 in Prince William County. No matter what it is called or how it is broken down on the tax bill, that is the amount of money coming out of each and every one of our wallets.

The county may not think this is a valid issue, or they may respond by saying we have always done it this way. Well, I could care less and neither should you. It is way past time for full disclosure by the
county. So to the county I say next year please tell us what our actual out-of-pocket rate is. Full disclosure.

What a great idea.

BRIAN SEEMAN

Dumfries