Last month I was a guest at the Colonial Area Republican Men’s Association (CARMA) lunch in Williamsburg. A fellow handed out a table of Virginia State-Local Tax Burden Compared to the U.S. Average (1970-2007) – from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce. I don’t recall if he made a pitch that the numbers were good or bad.
I glanced at the numbers again today and they tell the same story that Harvard’s long-term study reported in the Jan 06 alumni magazine.
- Harvard said the average American’s total tax burden went from 24% to 30% since the mid 70s.
- This table shows the average Virginian’s total tax burden went from 29.2% to 32.9% – before the Republican-controlled General Assembly raised taxes in 04 and 07.
If you take the average (median) income of Virginian families (Fairfax Govt web site) across the Commonwealth ($51,689) and in Fairfax ($88,123), it tells quite a tale. The firefighter married to a school teacher making $51k in RoVa and $88k in NoVa had their total tax burden increased 3% over 35 years (not including the latest hikes).
The tax-and-spend Republicans and Democrats will say, “Virginia is a low tax state.” The increases are small. Look, only 3%.
If greedy legislators at the local, Commonwealth and national governments hadn’t raised taxes, here is what it would mean to that family of four parented by a firefighter married to a school teacher.
- RoVa family would have $159.37 more EVERY month.
- NoVa family would have $270.08 more EVERY month.
Go ask the firefighter married to the school teacher what that money would mean to them every month – starting right now.
This is why ‘little’ tax increases are just a lie. That money means a lot to the average family. Even more to the working poor.
How did government services improve, or what essential new ones were provided, since the early 70s to justify taking this money from the families of Virginia?
Don’t say the 3% increase in taxes paid the salaries of the firefighter and the teacher. Their inflation adjusted wages didn’t profit from higher taxes.
Understanding what a couple of hundred bucks means to working families is the genius of Gov. Jim Gilmore’s ‘No Car Tax’. The concept is lost on the Republican leadership in the General Assembly. Witness today’s back pedal on the super max traffic fines from HB 3202 – the ’07 Transportation Tax Panic – they aren’t offering to repeal the whole abortion of Republican principles, just stick the ‘fees’ to out of state drivers too.
Ask your friends, family and neighbors what an extra couple of hundred dollars a month would mean to them. Maybe they should demand that government give the extra money they’ve taken since the 70s back.
