Property tax exemption for certain veterans and surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action.
Shall Section 6-A of Article X (Taxation and Finance) of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in action, where the surviving spouse occupies the real property as his or her principal place of residence and has not remarried?
Present Law:
The Constitution now requires the General Assembly to exempt from taxation the real property, including the joint real property of husband and wife, of any veteran with a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability, as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The exemption from taxation is applicable only to the principal place of residence. The surviving spouse of a veteran with such a disability is entitled to claim this exemption so long as the surviving spouse does not remarry and continues to occupy the real property as his or her principal place of residence.
Proposed Amendment:
The proposed amendment would authorize the General Assembly to exempt from taxation the real property of any surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces of the United States who was "killed in action," as determined by the U.S. Department of Defense. The exemption from taxation would cease if the surviving spouse remarries. The exemption would apply regardless of whether the spouse was killed in action prior to the effective date of this amendment but would apply only to those real property taxes to be paid on or after the effective date of legislation passed by the General Assembly. The exemption from taxation would apply to the surviving spouse's principal place of residence, even if he or she moves to a new principal place of residence. The exemption would not require the surviving spouse to have been residing in the Commonwealth at the time his or her spouse was killed in action. Legislation exercising the authority granted to the General Assembly in the proposed amendment was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor McAuliffe on April 7, 2014, but will become effective only upon approval by the voters of the proposed amendment. Thus, a "yes" vote on the proposed amendment will make effective legislation exempting from real property taxation the principal residence of the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in action. A "no" vote will leave the present Constitution unchanged.