U.S. WOMEN CAPTURE SOLHEIM CUP IN GAINESVILLE: Sports, Pages 14-15
Sepember 19, 2024 | Vol. 23, No. 39 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $2.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Missing woman’s husband gets earlier trial Naresh Bhatt says evidence won’t convict him By Cher Muzyk Staff Writer
In a blow to the prosecution, a judge on Monday set a December trial date in the case against Naresh Bhatt, a Manassas Park man who has been charged with concealing a dead body in connection with his wife’s disappearance. Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, has been missing since late July. She is presumed dead, but no body nor murder weapon has yet been found. Naresh Bhatt’s defense attorneys have been pushing to go to trial as soon as possible, claiming in court they don’t believe Mamta Kafle Bhatt is dead and doubt prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prove he’s guilty. See BHATT, page 8
STAFF PHOTO BY CHER MUZYK
Holly Wirth and Prabha Bhattarai Deuja, surrounded by Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s friends and coworkers, speak with reporters after a judge set a Dec. 9 trial date for Naresh Bhatt.
Vehicle owners get more time to pay tax bills
Residents have 2 more months to pay By Jill Palermo
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted unanimously last week to extend the deadline for paying car tax bills.
Managing Editor
Prince William County residents will have two months longer than usual to pay their car tax bills as a result of recent action by the board of supervisors. The board voted unanimously on Tuesday, Sept. 10 to extend the deadline for paying vehicle tax bills from Monday, Oct. 7 to Thursday, Dec. 5. The move came at the request of Supervisor Bob Weir, a Republican who represents the Gainesville District. Weir said he thought residents would appreciate more time to pay their car tax bills, which typically are several hundred dollars per vehicle. For example, a car valued at $17,000 would generate a tax bill of about $400 under the county’s personal property tax rate of $3.70. The board had also extended the deadline to pay the car tax last year, moving it from October until January. County Executive Chris Shorter recommended not shifting the
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deadline into the new year, as that causes accounting issues. The board agreed to delay the deadline until only Dec. 5, in part because real estate tax bills are also due on that day. As they did last year, the supervisors briefly discussed exploring longer-term solutions for the car tax bill, which is widely dreaded by residents because it is a significant cost that is due in one lump sum. The tax has packed a bigger punch in recent years because pandemic supply chain issues pushed
Homicide at Woodbridge car wash, page 8
up the value of used cars. In 2022, the county assessed vehicles at only 80% of their value because of the rise in values. Car values were expected to stabilize this year but remain higher than before the pandemic. Virginians are mandated by state law to pay personal property taxes on their vehicles, but localities can set the rate of tax residents pay. Prince William County’s rate of $3.70 per $100 in assessed value is lower than other Northern Virginia localities. The rate is $4.57 in Fair-
Taste of Old Country in Manassas, page 10
fax County and $4.15 in Loudoun. Residents are also paying higher car tax bills this year because of a smaller reduction from Virginia’s car tax relief law. The law allocates $950 million in car tax relief across the state, but that money is divvied up among localities, and Prince William County is receiving the same reimbursement it did when the law first took effect 20 years ago, regardless of population growth. The law is supposed to provide full tax bill relief on the first $20,000 of a vehicle’s value. But because of the stagnant reimbursement rate, Prince William County residents are getting only partial relief. Instead of not paying anything for cars worth $20,000 or under, residents are footing 64% of the tax. Or, in other words, only 36% of the tax bill on vehicles worth $20,000 or less is waived. Last year, 38% of the tax was waived. In 2021, it was 45%, according to Prince William County tax bills. Personal property taxes on vehicles generated about $200 million for the county last year, which was about 26% of all local tax revenue, according to county budget documents.
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