We, the undersigned citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, call upon the Virginia General Assembly to eliminate property taxes on owner-occupied primary residences.

Property taxes force Virginians to pay taxes year after year on property they already own, have already purchased with taxed income, and have often spent decades paying off. Unlike income taxes, property taxes are not based on money actually earned. Instead, they are based on government assessments of what a home might be worth if sold, creating a system that taxes homeowners on unrealized value rather than realized income.

For many Virginians, particularly retirees, this system has become increasingly burdensome and unfair.

A homeowner may spend thirty years paying a mortgage, finally own their home outright, and yet remain subject to an endless tax bill that never disappears. Failure to pay can ultimately result in the loss of the very home they worked a lifetime to acquire.

This is especially harmful to:

• Senior citizens living on fixed incomes.

• Widows and widowers struggling to remain in their homes.

• Disabled residents.

• Families facing rising costs of living.

• Long-term homeowners whose property assessments increase despite receiving no additional income.

We believe:

A person’s home should not become a perpetual source of taxation once it has been purchased and paid for.

Virginians should not be taxed on unrealized increases in property value.
Citizens who have paid off their homes should not face the risk of losing them because of escalating property tax bills.

Retirees who have spent their lives paying taxes deserve the security of remaining in their homes without the threat of increasing tax assessments.

Homeownership should provide stability and security, not a lifetime obligation to continue paying taxes on property already owned.

Therefore, we respectfully petition the Virginia General Assembly to enact legislation and pursue any constitutional changes necessary to:

• Eliminate property taxes on owner-occupied primary residences; or

• At a minimum, immediately exempt homeowners whose primary residences are fully paid off and who are retired from paying property taxes.

A home should be a place of security, not a source of perpetual taxation.

No Virginian should spend a lifetime paying for a home only to continue renting it from the government through property taxes.

The American Revolution was sparked, in part, by taxation without fair representation and burdens imposed upon citizens without their consent. More than two centuries later, many Virginians feel trapped by a system that allows government assessments to continually increase the taxes owed on homes they have already paid for. We believe the right to own and remain in one’s home should not depend on the ability to keep paying ever-increasing taxes on unrealized value.

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