This Week in Passenger Transport
March 10, 2008
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, a regional transportation entity created by the Virginia General Assembly in 2002, has no authority to collect taxes, according to a Feb. 29 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court, which stated that the provisions permitting the authority to impose regional taxes and fees violate the state Constitution. The authority will continue as an entity despite the ruling.
Local transportation officials had expected taxes and fees imposed by the transportation authority to generate about $300 million annually for regional road and transit projects. The seven taxes and fees in question, approved by NVTA in 2007, include a congestion relief fee; a motor vehicle rental tax; a transient occupancy tax; a safety inspection fee; a sales and use tax on auto repairs; a regional registration fee; and an initial vehicle registration fee. The authority now plans to refund about $8 million it had already collected in taxes and fees.
NVTA said the Supreme Court decision has placed in limbo 22 regional transportation projects approved last year at a total cost of $102 million.
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