More than $2.37 million in federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding is headed to communities across Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District, but Buchanan County is not among the localities receiving an allocation this year.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on June 23, that it will distribute $2,379,637 through the PILT program, which provides annual payments to local governments that contain certain federally owned lands exempt from local property taxes.
Counties across Southwest Virginia receiving funding include Dickenson County, $60,724; Lee County, $66,633; Scott County, $120,582; Smyth County, $269,066; Tazewell County, $38,023; Wise County, $111,641; and Wythe County, $206,588. Buchanan County did not receive a payment.
After asking why Buchanan County was excluded, Congressman Morgan Griffith’s office explained that eligibility is tied to the amount of qualifying federal land within a county.
“It looks like to me that PILT eligibility depends on federal lands tied to the National Park Service and Forest Service in each community,” Griffith’s office said in a statement. “It appears that Buchanan County has little to no National Park Service or Forest Service acreage.”
The office later provided additional information explaining how payments are determined.
“The formula used to compute the payments is contained in the PILT Act and is based on population, revenue-sharing payments, and the amount of Federal land within an affected county,” Griffith’s office said. “PILT payments are made in addition to other Federal payments to states, such as those for oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing and timber harvesting.”
According to the Department of the Interior, the federal government has distributed more than $13.4 billion in PILT payments since the program began in 1977 to eligible governments in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In announcing this year’s funding Griffith said the payments help offset the loss of local tax revenue in jurisdictions containing federal lands.
“Virginia’s Ninth District is home to numerous local jurisdictions that include federal lands. Because of this arrangement, activities on those lands are tax-exempt and local governments are limited in its collection of tax revenues,” Griffith said.
“I am a proud supporter of the PILT program to help local communities. As someone who voted to reauthorize PILT payments, I am delighted to see more than $2.3 million in PILT funds go to Ninth District communities.”
The largest payment in Virginia’s Ninth District this year went to Craig County, which received $417,201, followed by Bland County at $271,902 and Smyth County at $269,066.
The PILT program was established by Congress in 1976 and provides annual payments to counties and other local governments to help offset the impact of tax-exempt federal lands. Funding is appropriated each year through the Interior and Environment Appropriations Act.
