This is an annual tax levied on the assessed value of one's automobiles. It varied from county to county, but, in my case, was 4.5 percent of the assessed value of my car before Gilmore took office. Thus, I write a check for several hundred dollars every year simply for the privilege of owning a rather broken down 1985 Mercedes. Over the years, I have probably paid total personal property taxes close to what I paid for the car, which I bought used in the first place. Needless to say, such a tax system strongly discourages people such as myself from buying new cars.
Most people view the personal property tax as an especially onerous tax.
It isn't deducted from one's paycheck like the income tax, you don't pay it a bit at a time like the sales tax, and it isn't paid incrementally through mortgage payments like the property tax. Every year in the fall, you have to write a check for the full amount of the tax. Thus, the personal property tax is far more visible than many other state taxes that may take more out of one's pocket. Consequently, gubernatorial candidate Gilmore struck a responsive chord when he said he would get rid of Virginia's personal property tax. Initially, his opponent opposed abolition of this tax, then switched and said he would also phase it out.