Active Attack Training Important to Everyone
Various members of King William County Government Staff, and representatives from private businesses, were in attendance January 13 for an ‘Active Attack’ training session.
The four-hour event was hosted by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services at the Parks & Recreation offices in Aylett. It was offered as a public service by DCJS.
Apologetically, the instructor opened the session saying he wish this training was not necessary. He referred to better days when disputes were handled in more civil ways by people, but now it is about using weapons to settle a score and gain notoriety at the same time.
The training included modules on Civilian Response to Active Attacks; Casualty Care; Basic Medical lntervention; and Practical Application.
Those in attendance came away with a greater understanding of what to do in the event of being in an environment where an attack is underway.
DCJS will come to any group and lead the training at no charge. Visit the website at www.dcjs.virginia.gov.
Former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling Weighs In on Assessment of Real Property
District 5 Supervisor Ed Moren steered me toward this Facebook posting written by former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling. It is an excellent piece on the reassessment of real property process, which King William County is currently experiencing:
“DID YOU KNOW THAT ASSESSMENTS CAN’T RAISE YOUR REAL ESTATE TAXES.....BUT YOUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CAN?
I received my annual real estate assessment notice this week. You may have received one as well.
My personal assessment increased 8.34% this year, after going up 8.98% last year. Over the past four years, my assessment has gone up 28.25%! That's a big hit!
Most people mistakenly assume that an increase in their real estate assessment will automatically result in an increase in their real estate taxes, but did you know that’s not how it works in Virginia?
In Virginia, an increase in real estate assessments cannot, by state law, result in an increase in a local governments total real estate tax collections that exceeds 1%. If it does, state law requires that the existing real estate tax rate be “rolled back” to offset the impact of the assessment. This is called the "equalized tax rate."
Here's an example.
If your localities real estate tax rate last year was .81/$100 of assessed value, as is the case in Hanover County where I live; and your localities assessments go up by an average of 10%, your statutorily required "equalized tax rate" would "roll back" to .73/$100 of assessed value.
This is just a generic example, but do you see how it works? The real estate reassessment did not result in higher real estate taxes. If the Board of Supervisors wants to increase the equalized tax rate it must vote to do so.
Now here's what many localities will do. They will vote to retain their current tax rate (.81/$100 in assessed value in the example I gave above), and then celebrate the fact that they did not raise the tax rate. While that is technically true, the reality is that they raised your taxes because they voted to reset the tax rate at .81/$100 of assessed value, rather than adopt the equalized tax rate of .73/$100 that was provided for in law.
Hanover County has done this for several years now, and your locality may have done the same. Our real estate tax rate has not increased in several years, but my overall tax bill has gone up by 28.5% in the past four years because the Board of Supervisors voted each year to increase the actual tax rate above the statutorily required equalized rate. Make no mistake, that is a tax increase, and big one!
Now, as a former local government official, let me acknowledge that this may be entirely appropriate if done transparently. Your locality may need more money to fund local programs. Since the real estate tax is the primary source of local tax revenue, your Board of Supervisors may feel they have no choice but to reset the tax rate at its prior level to increase local funding. But if that is the case, be aware that they are voting to raise your taxes and hold them accountable.
Here’s the bottom line, the only way your real estate tax bill will increase is if your local Board of Supervisors votes to raise them.”
Earned Income Tax Credit (ETC) Awareness Day January 27
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) invites you to an exciting, virtual event on Friday, January 27, 2023, at 1:00pm, EST:
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day 2023
Identify and Resolve Issues during the EITC Claim Lifecycle
The EITC is a complex tax provision. Even when a complete and accurate tax return is filed, issues may still arise. Have you ever wondered how the most influential tax practitioners identify and resolve EITC issues? Join us for this special roundtable conversation moderated by Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, as she leads a conversation with Susan Morgenstern, adjunct professor at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law; Omeed Firouzi, staff attorney with Philadelphia Legal Assistance Taxpayer Support Clinic; Nancy Rossner, executive director at the Community Tax Law Project; and Leslie McLean, member of J. Leslie McLean PLLC. This conversation will empower you with the knowledge to identify and resolve issues that arise when claiming EITC. Special emphasis will be placed on assisting veterans; domestic violence survivors; refugees; and American Indians and Alaska Natives.
You can register for this exciting, virtual event at the following link: Click Here to Register. This event is limited to the first 950 registered participants. After you register, you will receive an email from Microsoft Teams with a link to the event (don’t forget to save to your calendar!). The event is open to anyone who wants to learn about identifying and resolving EITC issues, but it will be particularly relevant to organizations, government agencies, and others who assist taxpayers or provide taxpayers with resources on where to obtain assistance when issues arise.
If you have an interest in hearing about a specific topic during the roundtable conversation, please let us know! You can email us prior to the event at wi.eitc.event@irs.gov. Also, if you have an issue with registering, please email us at wi.eitc.event@irs.gov. We look forward to you joining us on January 27, 2023!
New Numbers Unveiled for Climbing US Population
As our nation rang in a new year, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the United States population will be 334,233,854 entering 2023.
This represents an increase of 1,571,393, or 0.47%, from New Year’s Day 2022, and 2,784,573, or 0.84% since Census Day (April 1) 2020.
In January 2023, the nation is expected to experience 1 birth every 9 seconds and 1 death every 10 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add 1 person to the U.S. population every 32 seconds.
The combination of births, deaths and net international migration increases the U.S. population by 1 person every 27 seconds.
The projected world population on Jan. 1, 2023, is 7,942,645,086, an increase of 73,772,634, or 0.94%, from New Year’s Day 2022. During January 2023, 4.3 births and 2.0 deaths are expected worldwide every 1 second.
