Funding of Constitutional Officers - Virginia Joint Legislative Audit ...

A variety of other revenue sources comprise the remaining 57 percent of
statewide local revenues. Figure 5 shows the proportion of total statewide revenue
accounted for by each source.
The process of measuring the capacity of local governments in Virginia to
raise revenue has evolved over many years. It began with the use of real estate
measures only, followed by the development of the composite index, which is used in
the funding ofpublic education. The most recent measure is revenue capacity which,
like the composite index, is a multi-component measure. Because most locality tax
bases are a mixture of several different sources, a multi-component formula to measure
ability to raise revenue is appropriate, and is necessary to ensure that State funds
are distributed equitably across localities.
,..-------------- Figure 5-------------.,
Local Revenue Sources in Virginia, FY 1988
Non-tax revenue sources (13.05%)
Machinery and tools tax;
merchants capital tax; and
penalties and interest collected
on all property taxes (2.48%)
Business, professional, and
occupational license fees;
vehicle license fees; and other
miscellaneous taxes (10.86%)
Consumer utility tax (5.04%)
Local optional sales tax (8.89%)
•
Tangible personal
property tax (13.84%)
Tax on real property
and tangible personal property of
public service corporations (2.46%)
Note: Percentages represent proportions oflocal revenue statewide.
Source: JLARC staffanalysis ofAuditor of Public Accounts data for FY 1988.
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