Taxes

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin announced his new finance secretary and vowed his team will promote lower taxes and greater fiscal responsibility in Richmond.

The governor-elect’s incoming finance secretary will be Stephen Emery Cummings, the former president and CEO of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

“Lowering taxes and restoring fiscal responsibility in Richmond is a primary focus of our Day One Game Plan, and Steve’s experience and expertise will help make sure we deliver real results for Virginians,” Youngkin said.

Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin has proposed several savings for Virginians, including doubling the standard deduction, a one-time tax rebate, eliminating the grocery tax, and suspending the 10-cent increase in the gas tax. His proposals come at a time when Virginia has a record $2.6 billion budget surplus.

Democrats on the Fairfax County Board Supervisors voted last night to impose a new tax on shoppers. Effective January 1, 2022, county residents will incur a 5-cent tax on plastic bags in grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores.

Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) was the board’s lone dissenting vote.

Did you know that last year Virginia’s tax on gasoline increased 5 cents per gallon, on July 1, 2020, from 24.4 cents to 29.4 cents?

Did you know that this year Virginia’s tax on gasoline is increasing again, by another 5 cents per gallon on July 1, 2021, to 34.4 cents? That is a 40% increase in one year.

Also, starting next year the Virginia gasoline tax will automatically increase with inflation every July 1st.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9 to 1 in favor of higher taxes on Tuesday. The new county budget will raise taxes by 3.4%, amounting to a 45% rise over 10 years. Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) was the only “no” vote. Herrity’s alternative budget, rejected by the Democrat majority, held taxes nearly flat — while offering relief to seniors and 3% raises to county teachers.

On March 9, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which is deciding on next year’s county budget, advertised a 4.25% real estate tax hike, which would cost the average homeowner $293. This continues a two-decade trend where the supervisors have increased real estate taxes three times faster than homeowner income, which has barely kept up with inflation

At the February 23rd Board meeting, the County Executive presented the Advertised Budget for FY2022. While this budget includes a decrease of one penny in the tax rate, it results in an overall increase of 3.4 percent for the average homeowner because of the rise in assessment values.

For those of us who have lived in Fairfax County for more than a decade or two, we cannot believe how our once-great place to live has been decimated by a decade of Democrat rule. The traffic congestion is probably to a large extent unavoidable, and taxes and spending – in absolute terms – will inevitably increase as the population expands. But that does not mean the rate of taxes and spending must rise disproportionately relative to population growth