FARMVILLE – The Town of Farmville had no trouble mining the meaning of the Town of Mineral's request.

Mineral opposes any change by the commonwealth to Virginia's BPOL tax.

Farmville agrees and voted unanimously during a special called meeting Wednesday to join Mineral in adopting a resolution firmly stating the shared position.

“There's a move afoot again this year to try to make some adjustments to it,” Farmville Town Manager Gerald Spates told council members. “And one of them I heard was, instead of doing it on gross receipts, doing it on gross profits.”

Town Council didn't need subtitles to get the picture.

“That would be a huge difference (in income to the Town),” council member David E. Whitus said. “Which would kill us.”

The BPOL, or Business, Professional, and Occupation License Tax, generated approximately $1.3 million in revenue for the Town of Farmville last year, a major source of revenue.

A commission established by Governor Bob McDonnell is considering whether or not to take a position on altering or abolishing the BPOL tax, which is not a favorite among the business community.

The position of towns such as Mineral and Farmville, which rely so heavily on the BPOL tax for revenue, is that raising town taxes to compensate for the loss of revenue would not constitute tax relief and would also affect businesses.

In reaching out to localities across the state to stand together in opposition to any changes that would have adverse effects, the Town of Mineral included a proposed resolution which it has already adopted and sent to the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate.

The Town of Mineral, its resolution states, “relies heavily on the revenue of the BPOL Tax for operational costs, in the daily operation of the Town of Mineral…

“The BPOL Tax has become the target of negative attention at the state level of government, and it being the Town of Mineral's opinion that the state government does not have a firm understanding of a smaller municipal budget or operation,” states the resolution, which the Town of Farmville agrees with.

“The Town Council of the Town of Mineral is requesting that all State Representatives consider all aspects of the BPOL Tax before any decisions are made and contact all cities, towns, and counties before any changes are made that would affect the BPOL Tax and how it would impact the cities, towns and counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” it states.

Those words struck a rich vein of understanding among Farmville's council members.