Category: Taxes
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Virginia Set to Help Taxpayers for a Change
from The Republican Standard Good news for Virginia taxpayers. In the coming weeks, several hundred dollars are heading back into the pockets of eligible Virginians. Up to $400 per household will be heading to mailboxes and bank accounts across the Commonwealth thanks to a surplus in the state budget recently signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.…
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Voters Will Decide Virginia’s Future Direction
by Derrick Max In two weeks, the people of Virginia will decide on two competing visions for the future of Virginia. Will they elect a General Assembly favoring Governor Glenn Youngkin’s more freedom-oriented policy vision, or will they elect a General Assembly returning the Commonwealth to the statist policy vision of former governors Terry McAuliffe…
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How Pass Through Tax Rules Raid the U.S. Treasury
By Steve Haner When the General Assembly was briefed on the state’s financial status last week, the $412 million in unexpected revenue growth was dismissed as potentially misleading because of some new quirk in Virginia tax law called the Pass Through Entity Tax or PTET. PTET keeps coming up in these discussions. Approval of the…
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The High Stakes in Virginia’s Very Close Nov. 7 Election
from Liberty Unyielding Virginia is holding a very close election. The last day to vote is on Tuesday, November 7. If you live in Virginia, you can also vote early, at specified locations, on Monday through Friday, from September 22 to November 3, or on Saturday, October 28 or November 4. Voters are almost evenly…
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Youngkin Team Cautious Despite Revenue Surge
by Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Virginia’s state budget grew 90% in the past decade, far faster than in previous decades. After adjusting for inflation and population changes, spending still jumped 4% each year, a high rate of compound real growth. At the same time, the…
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Miyares Seeks Dismissal of Suit to Save RGGI
By Steve Haner Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) is defending the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board’s decision to exit a multi-state carbon cap and tax compact as within the regulatory agency’s authority. He has also claimed to the circuit court hearing an appeal of that decision that the plaintiffs were not affected by the action…
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A Case Against Further Tax Cuts
by Dick Hall-Sizemore After more than a decade of state budget revenue shortfalls and concomitant budget cuts, one would think there would be smiles all round at the news of revenues coming in substantially above the projections, resulting in a healthy general fund surplus. Incongruously, that was not the case. Republicans seemed to be outraged…
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Virginia’s “Runaway” Budget Negotiators
by Derrick A. Max (This column was first published by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy) Fear of commitment is a common theme in Hollywood — where romantic comedies are replete with characters that sidestep long-term commitment primarily out of fear that someone better may come along. Think of Runaway Bride, where Maggie, played…
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Youngkin’s Partial Tax Wins are Still Impressive
By Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and the legislators of both parties who have given him at least some of the tax reforms he asked for need to stop being shy and take a real victory lap. He has been in office…
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Which Virginia Taxes Have Grown and How Much
By Steve Haner What a difference just four years has made in Virginia’s financial condition, with the state’s General Fund tax revenue having increased 31% during the period and its Commonwealth Transportation Fund revenue increasing by almost 36%. This is comparing the annual results for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2023, just released, and…
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Virginia’s Balance Sheet is Embarrassingly Strong
By Steve Haner “Our balance sheet couldn’t be stronger…this is our moment to soar.” So said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Wednesday. Every year, our governors come to the legislature to report on the end of the fiscal year financial result, and often they say something like that. They always prefer to bring a happy message over one…
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Cruise Subsidy More Important Than Tax Relief?
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has obtained and released the most recent negotiating offer from Democrats in the Senate as the standoff between the two political parties over the state budget continues. It is contained in an on-line article that doesn’t appear to have made it into the print edition yet.
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Virginia’s New “The Stupid Party”
by Chris Braunlich From the ‘50s to the mid-‘70s, the Republican Party was known as “the stupid party” – locked in the past, making foolish decisions, promoting unwise and counterproductive policies. Today, in Virginia, “the stupid party” has returned. But it is no longer Republican. The current battle over Virginia’s budget and the prospects for…
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Paid In Full, State Needs to Give Us Our Change
By Barbara Hollingsworth Imagine a merchant refusing to hand over the change when a customer paid with a $20 bill for a $17.50 item. Virginians would be irate if a restaurant, bar, grocery store, or other private establishment decided to keep the change because the business might “need” the extra money in the future. Yet…
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Restoring Sales Tax Holiday is Not Tax Relief
by Steve Haner Virginia’s Democratic legislators are convinced that citizens are happy to pay taxes for state services and will rebel at the polls if taxes are cut when there are “unmet vital needs.” That is why they have so far resisted any and all proposals from Governor Glenn Youngkin and Republican legislators to split…