Bacon's Rebellion

Democrats Demand Massive Tax Hike on Virginians

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

Meanwhile, Republicans plan to return a $1.2 billion surplus back to taxpayers.

by Victoria Manning

Virginia Democrats are wasting no time proposing a huge tax increase on Virginians by slapping a 5 percent tax on virtually every service in the commonwealth—despite the state’s budget surplus. The massive increase, proposed by longtime Democrat Vivian Watts, would land squarely on small businesses and tradesmen such as plumbers, electricians, landscapers, and barbers.

If HB 1755 passes, Virginians will be required to pay more for dry cleaning, vehicle repair, sporting events, nutrition services, animal boarding, digital services, and much more.

Virginia is already ranked an abysmal 28th on the State Tax Competitiveness Index, which sorts states’ taxation competitiveness in different areas such as income tax, property tax, and sales tax. If Democrats get their way, Virginia will certainly decline further in the rankings. The state income tax is one of the worst in the nation and Virginia is one of the few states that taxes its citizens through a personal property tax on vehicle ownership.

Restoration News spoke to Tim Anderson, a former Virginia Delegate who is running for reelection in Virginia’s 97th House District. He weighed in on HB 1755, saying, “Services have never been taxed in Virginia and despite Virginia having record surpluses each of the past 3 years, Democrats have the audacity to try to take more money from Virginians to fund progressive causes such as the electric vehicle mandate.” Anderson also shared his concerns regarding the impact a tax increase would have, “with inflation crushing Virginians pocketbooks at the grocery store, out of touch Democrats think the best thing to do is take more of your money.” Continue reading.

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11 responses to “Democrats Demand Massive Tax Hike on Virginians”

  1. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    I can accept having no new tax decreases, but there is no reason to raise taxes when the state is running with a budget surplus.

  2. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    Vivian Watts has introduced a bill that would create a new tax bracket and tax rate (7%) on higher incomes ($600K +), so it is a targeted tax increase. It would impact business operations that are not incorporated and thus taxed on the personal tax rules. The bill also picks up last year's effort on digital services, which was first proposed (don't forget) by Youngkin.

    Whether or not this bill will be a Democratic Party priority as in "all Democrats" is not clear at all. Her income tax bill has failed in the past. I was going to write in detail at some point, but Jim's probably right, the MAGA screaming approach will get more clicks.

    The claim that "the Republicans" are returning $1.2 in tax cuts to wipe out the surplus is totally bogus. The tax changes Youngkin has proposed are way less valuable than that, and also highly targeted to a small subset. This report is junk, Jim and Kerry.

  3. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
    f/k/a_tmtfairfax

    We in North Carolina pay sales tax on Software as a Service and digital downloads. Some repair, maintenance, and installation services are also subject to sales taxes. But our personal income tax rate has dropped to 4.25% this year and to 3.99% in 2026 and following. Social Security benefits are not taxed nor are government pensions. The law was only supposed to exempt state and local pensions, but the state lost a court case so that federal pensions aren't taxable. My spouse likes that.

  4. William O'Keefe Avatar
    William O'Keefe

    Democrats still have not learned why they continue to lose. Tax and spend is no longer a winning strategy!

  5. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    What did the JLARC study say about the pay for Virginia educators?

    How about our mental health system?

    Rural hospitals?

    How about the schools that the state says will "need state resources" with the advent of the new "accountability/accreditation" system?

    or the outdated water systems in Richmond and other places including
    wastewater treatment plants in places that are continuing to pollute the Cheapeake Bay?

    I do not advocate new/more taxes just to be doing so but at the same time,
    the facts that advocate for tax cuts without regard to real identified needs
    ought not be thinking of themselves as particularly virtuous.

    It's sorta like refusing to fix your dead well pump because you're tired of
    paying unexpected expenses?

  6. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Don’t worry about tax hikes, Trump has signaled he’s open to private equity investments** in your IRAs and 401(k)/403(b). You’ll be rich beyond your wildest dreams.

    **at 2% in fees and 20% of profits.

  7. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    Clickbait warning: The “Continue reading” link takes you to Kerry’s site… smh…

  8. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    So I need to correct a couple of things from my initial rant. The bill that was highlighted is just focused on the sales tax on services, not Watt's income tax proposal. I did confuse it with HB 1754. The sales tax on services did pass among the Democrats last year so perhaps fair to tag it is a party/caucus position, but in truth we should wait to see the committee votes. On another point, if the sales tax were imposed it is more like 6% and in some localities 7%.

    The Governor's car tax rebate proposal is being scored at $1.1 billion, so it does correspond to the $1.2 billion surplus claimed. Of course, the actual surplus was higher than that, but the car tax proposal is worth up to $300 for quite a few households. But it is very limited in reach and of course many cheaper cars don't generate that much tax and won't generate that much rebate. The proposal to eliminate the tax on tips is worth only about $70 million annually when fully implemented.

  9. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    as an aside for all the claims of Biden's "diminished" senility – listening to him doing a eulogy for Jimmy Carter – sounds pretty 100% to me.

  10. CJBova Avatar
    CJBova

    Clarity. Since you can’t take a hint -Drop the donkey comments or you’ll get a ban from posting

  11. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    Let's get Abagaol Spanberger on the record about this bill – support or oppose?

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