[Adopted 11-10-1993]
The County of Northumberland finds that the
preservation of real estate for agricultural, horticultural, forest
or open-space purposes is in the public interest to promote a balanced
economy and ameliorate pressures which force conversion of such real
estate to more intensive uses and which are attributable in part to
the assessment of such real estate at values incompatible with its
use and preservation and, having heretofore adopted a land use plan,
hereby ordains that such real estate shall be taxed in accordance
with the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 32 of Title 58.1 of the
Code of Virginia and of this article.
A.
The owner of any real estate meeting the criteria
set forth in 58.1-3230 of the Code of Virginia as to real estate devoted
to agricultural, horticultural, forest or open-space use may, at least
60 days preceding the tax year for which such taxation is sought,
or in any year in which a general reassessment is being made until
30 days have elapsed after his or her notice of increase in assessment
is mailed in accordance with § 58.1-3330 of the Code of
Virginia, apply to the Commissioner of the Revenue for the classification,
assessment and taxation for such property for the next succeeding
tax year on the basis of its use, under the procedures set forth in
§ 58.1-3234 of the Code of Virginia. Such application shall
be on forms provided by the State Department of Taxation and supplied
by the Commissioner of the Revenue and shall include such additional
schedules, photographs and drawings as may be required by the Commissioner
of the Revenue.
B.
An application fee of $20 shall accompany each application.
C.
An individual who is the owner of an undivided interest
in a parcel may apply on behalf of himself or herself and the other
owners of such parcel upon submitting an affidavit that such other
owners are minors or cannot be located.
D.
An application shall be submitted whenever the use
or acreage of such land previously approved changes, except when a
change in acreage occurs solely as a result of a conveyance necessitated
by governmental action or condemnation of a portion of any land previously
approved for taxation on the basis of use assessment.
E.
All property owners must revalidate annually with
the Commissioner of the Revenue, on or before the date the assessment
is due, any application previously approved.
F.
A separate application shall be filed for each parcel.
A.
Promptly upon receipt of any application, the Commissioner
of the Revenue shall determine whether the subject property meets
the criteria for taxation hereunder. If the Commissioner of the Revenue
determines that the subject property does meet such criteria, he or
she shall determine the value of such property for its qualifying
use, as well as its fair market value.
B.
In determining whether the subject property meets
the criteria for agricultural, horticultural, forest or open-space
use, the Commissioner of the Revenue may request an opinion from the
Director of the Department of Conservation and Historic Resources
or the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The use value and fair market value of any qualifying
property shall be placed on the land book before delivery to the Treasurer,
and the tax for the next succeeding tax year shall be extended from
the use value.
There is hereby imposed a rollback tax, in an
amount equal to the amount, if any, by which the taxes paid or payable
on the basis of the valuation, assessment and taxation under this
article are exceeded by the taxes that would have been paid or payable
on the basis of the valuation, assessment or taxation of other real
estate in the county in the year of the change and in each of the
five years immediately preceding the year of the change, plus ten-percent
interest. Such additional taxes shall only be assessed against that
portion of real estate which no longer qualifies for assessment and
taxation on the basis of use.
A.
The owner of any real estate changed to a nonqualifying
use at the request of the owner or his or her agent or liable for
rollback taxes shall, within 60 days following a change in use, report
such change to the Commissioner of the Revenue or other assessing
officer on such forms as may be prescribed. The Commissioner shall
forthwith determine and assess the rollback tax, which shall be assessed
against and paid by the owner of the property at the time the change
in use which no longer qualifies occurs, and it shall be paid to the
Treasurer within 30 days of the assessment. Any person failing to
report within 60 days following such change in use and/or failing
to pay such rollback taxes within 30 days of assessment shall be liable
for an additional penalty of 10% of the amount of rollback taxes and
interest, which penalty there is hereby imposed interest of 1/2 percentum
of the amount of the rollback tax, interest and for each month or
fraction thereof during which the failure continues.
B.
Any person making a material misstatement of fact
in any application filed pursuant hereto shall be liable for all taxes,
in such amounts and at such times as if such had been assessed on
the basis of fair market value as applied to other real estate in
the taxing jurisdiction, together with interest and penalties thereon,
and he or she shall be further assessed with an additional penalty
of 100 percentum of such unpaid taxes.
The provisions of Title 58.1 of the Code of
Virginia applicable to local levies and real estate assessment and
taxation shall be applicable to assessments and taxation hereunder
mutatis mutandis, including, without limitation to, provisions relating
to tax liens and the correction of erroneous assessments, and for
such purposes the rollback taxes shall be considered to be deferred
real estate taxes.
This amended article shall be effective for
all tax years beginning January 1, 1994.
