While Gloucester taxpayers will experience a 3¢ increase on their real estate tax rate as a result of the recently approved budget, the FY 2023 budget, a new personal property tax classification on vehicles has allowed county supervisors to lower the vehicle tax from $2.95 to $2.30 per $100 of assessed value.

The new classification on vehicles was created by the General Assembly to give localities the ability the lower the rate on qualifying vehicles. This comes as individuals are seeing the value of their vehicles rise dramatically.

Normally, the value of cars and trucks depreciates each year; however, the pandemic has changed that, Acting County Administrator Carol Steele said.

The inventory of used cars dropped during the pandemic because rental companies and individuals were unable to purchase new cars, while the availability of new cars was impacted by a shortage of computer chips. That, along with a number of other factors, such as disruptions of the supply chain, led t...