The Honorable Corey Stewart
Chairman
Prince William Board of County Supervisors
One County Complex Court
Prince William, Virginia 22192
Dear Chairman Stewart and Board of County Supervisors:
On behalf of the members of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I strongly encourage you to scrap plans to raise the county’s programmable computer equipment and peripherals tax rate. If enacted, the plan will increase the property tax businesses pay for computer equipment from $1.25 to $3.70 per $100 in value, nearly a 300 percent increase. Such an action would have perverse economic consequences.
Higher taxes on equipment will have a negative impact on many capital-intensive businesses, such as data centers. This industry is crucial to the state of Virginia, supporting 43,275 jobs, $3.2 billion in labor income, and $10.2 billion in economic output, most of which is centered around Northern Virginia. Hiking taxes will increase the operating costs for businesses that support these jobs, impacting their bottomline. This could distort business decisions and capital allocation, creating a disincentive for firms to expand or invest further in Prince William County.
NTU strongly supports the county’s mission of cutting property taxes for individual taxpayers. However, raising taxes on businesses to finance these cuts is fiscally irresponsible and economically unwise. By doing so, the county would sacrifice its competitive advantage compared to neighboring counties and mortgage its economic growth.
Prince William County has many alternatives it could implement instead of adding additional burdens on those who contribute to the community. A fiscally sound approach would be to reduce the size of government and pass along savings to taxpayers in the form of lower property taxes. The proposal being debated is not the appropriate method to ensure prosperity for business and individual taxpayers. I encourage you to find a solution that works for all stakeholders.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Policy and Government Affairs Associate