In 2003, the General Assembly added $1 to the annual charge for automobile registrations to raise money for Jamestown’s 400th anniversary celebration. Designed as a temporary measure, the surcharge was due to expire June 30, 2008.
Last week Sen. Thomas K. Norment, Jr., R-Williamsburg, suggested to the Williamsburg City Council that the fee could find new uses, such as funding tourism programs, now that the Jamestown events are over, reports Tom Holden with the Virginian-Pilot.
Yesterday, Attorney General Bob McDonnell called for eliminating the registration fee as scheduled. According to a statement released by his office, “McDonnell made it clear … that when a fee is passed for a specific purpose, and that purpose no longer exists, the fee must be removed.” Good for McDonnell!
I find it extraordinary that Norment would even consider retaining the tax. It’s not the size of the charge that infuriates me, it’s the principle. Voters have little enough faith in the promises made by politicians as it is, especially when invoking the promise, “I will not raise taxes.” Two governors have broken that oath this decade alone. If the General Assembly decides to keep the tax, the list of untrustworthies will expand to include legislators who swear that a tax increase “is just temporary.”
(Photo credit of Thomas “Would You Buy a Used Car from This Man?” Norment: Kaufman and Canoles.)
