Tag: 2023 Virginia Budget

Youngkin’s Business, Personal Tax Cuts Pass Out of House

Eric Burk

The Virginia House of Delegates passed Governor Glenn Youngkin’s bills to cut the business tax rate from six to five percent and the top  individual income tax bracket from 5.75 to 5.5 percent. The two bills would also increase individual and business income tax deductions.

“Virginians are still overtaxed, they deserve to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks and today’s significant move by the House of Delegates means Virginians are one step closer to additional relief,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a release after the bills passed out of the House on Wednesday.

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Youngkin Pitches His $1 Billion Tax Cut Package to Supporters at Rally

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia — Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke at a small rally on Monday where he shot hoops with children and called for his supporters to pressure their legislators to support the tax relief package included in his budget amendment proposal.

“We can pay for this. We have an expected surplus. We’re projecting continued excess revenues. We can afford this and we can still invest in a record education budget. We can still invest in the transformation of our behavioral health system. We can still invest in law enforcement. We can still invest to make government work for you,” he said.

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Youngkin Makes Legislative Pitches During State of the Commonwealth Address

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia — Governor Glenn Youngkin continued his call for tax cuts, changes to education policy, and increased funding for law enforcement as part of his Wednesday State of the Commonwealth address; he described his first term as a reversal after his Democratic predecessors, and called on legislators to “press the accelerator.”

“I am here this afternoon to communicate that the state of our Commonwealth is substantially better than it was last year,” he said to applause. “We are still a great distance from our destination. A destination where Virginia truly is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I’m here this afternoon to urge us to accelerate our efforts to get more done and to get it done faster.”

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Youngkin at 52 Percent Approval in VCU Poll

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin is at 52 percent approval, 32 percent disapproval in a Virginia Commonwealth University Poll that comes as he makes a pitch for tax cuts and business incentives ahead of a General Assembly session beginning January 11.

“Poll respondents feel that inflation needs to be dealt with and democracy ensured for our future,” former governor L. Douglas Wilder said in an announcement of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs poll.

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Youngkin’s Budget Proposal Includes Item for 15-Week Gestation Limit for Abortions

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s recent budget proposal includes a $50,000 item for adult correctional facilities to offset increased costs from establishing a “15-week gestation limitation for abortion.”

The item aligns with Youngkin’s request that legislators pass a pain threshold abortion ban in 2023. Such a bill will face stiff opposition in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it will likely be sent to the Senate Education and Health Committee, chaired by Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).

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Youngkin’s $3.6 Billion Budget Amendment Proposal Includes $1 Billion in Tax Relief

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia — Governor Glenn Youngkin is highlighting $1 billion in tax relief in his budget amendment proposal, including lowering Virginia’s business tax rate from six to five percent, and slightly lowering the income tax for payers above $17,000 from 5.75 percent to 5.5 percent. In Thursday’s joint meeting of the General Assembly money committees, Youngkin and members of his administration told legislators that lowering tax rates will actually increase Virginia’s tax revenue in the long run by attracting more growth.

“This first step will mean our business tax rate will be lower than Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. But more importantly, by setting ourselves on a committed path to an even lower rate – like Democrat-led North Carolina was able to do – we will send a clear signal to businesses that we want your jobs and we are going to drive the Commonwealth’s economic engine even faster,” Youngkin said. “Starting down this path is to reject false choices presented in the past. Yes, Virginia, we can choose competitive taxes, we can choose economic growth, and we can choose critical investment priorities all at the same time.”

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Youngkin Says Budget Proposal Will Include $350 Million More for Site Readiness, Priority on Dual-Enrollment Programs for High School Students

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin said Friday his upcoming budget amendment proposal would include $350 million in additional funds for site readiness to add to the $150 million already allocated in the biennial budget. Youngkin told attendees at the Virginia Economic Summit and Forum on International Trade that despite Virginia’s pro-business advantages like the port, the Commonwealth’s workforce, and right-to-work, Virginia needs to do more to attract businesses.

“Virginia often is not selected by businesses, particularly by manufacturing projects, because megasites aren’t ready. Simply put, it’s not that we don’t have enough inventory, we don’t really have any. Since 2016, a lack of project-ready sites has cost Virginia more than 55,000 jobs and $124 billion in capital investment,” he said.

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Adjusted for Tax Relief, Virginia Revenue Up 8.3 Percent Year-to-Date

Eric Burk

Virginia’s tax revenues four months into Fiscal Year 2023 are down 3.1 percent compared to Fiscal Year 2022, although when adjusted for timing and $250 tax rebates sent to Virginians, revenues are up 8.3 percent compared to the previous year, according to a presentation Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings prepared to share with legislators.

Adjusted for $88 million paid out in October as part of the rebates, Virginia’s October revenues hit a 10.3 percent year-over-year increase, ahead of forecasts.

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Youngkin Touts Transportation Infrastructure Funding, Says He’ll Defend Right to Work

Eric Burk

At the Virginia Governor’s Transportation Conference, Governor Glenn Youngkin touted a mix of federal and state investment in Virginia’s transportation infrastructure in ports, roads, rail, and air infrastructure, and said he’d defend Virginia’s right-to-work laws.

“This year we will have a record level of support for our Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Transportation Fund. That $9 billion includes $3.5 billion in surface transportation capital construction projects. $3.3 billion in keeping and maintaining our highways and our bridges and our tunnels at best-in-class standards. $1.1 billion in keeping rail and transit moving forward. $1 billion in allocation of funds for the regional transportation needs,” he said Thursday.

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2022 Changes Made Virginia’s Tax Policy More Progressive

Eric Burk

Virginia’s tax code is now more progressive than most states, meaning that taxes impact higher income brackets more than lower income brackets, after the General Assembly increased the standard income tax deduction from $4,500 to $8,000 for individuals, and made the Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit 75 percent refundable.

“Taken together, these changes will make Virginia’s income tax 45 percent more progressive than in 2021 (as measured by change in the ‘Suits’ progressivity index, which measures the progressivity of taxes on all income groups), and more progressive than most other states’ income tax,”  a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report states.

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Youngkin Announces Operation Bold Blue Line to Address Violent Crime in Virginia

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin called for increased funding to support law enforcement and partnerships with localities as part of the administration’s Monday announcement of Operation Bold Blue Line. The proposals were the result of his violent crime task force, which he said found Virginia lacks law enforcement officers, prosecutors, programs for at-risk youth, and support for witnesses and victims.

“It’s often said that our law enforcement heroes represent a thin blue line,” he said in a speech outside a City of Norfolk Library alongside Attorney General Jason Miyares and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.

“Friends, with nearly 40 percent law enforcement vacancy rates in some cities, with too few prosecutors actually prosecuting, with diminished community engagement and witnesses and victims less willing to come forward, that thin blue line is getting far too thin.”

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Virginia September Tax Revenues Down, Reflecting Tax Rebates

Eric Burk

Virginia’s September General Fund tax revenues hit nearly $1.9 billion, less than last year’s September revenues of $2.6 billion, but the governor’s office emphasized that the decrease was expected as a result of tax policy changes. Adjusted for those changes, tax revenues were up 10.7 percent year over year.

“Adjusted for the impacts of planned policy actions, including the historic tax rebates of nearly $900 million recently delivered to Virginians, September revenue collection increased more than 10 percent compared to a year ago,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Friday press release. “September is a typically strong month for revenues, and this year was consistent with that precedent. At the same time, economic data remains mixed, the job market shows stability but the persistent inflation from misguided efforts in Washington continues to be the silent thief stealing more and more from the paychecks of hardworking Virginians.”

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Youngkin Wants $10 Million for Energy Research and Development, Including $5 Million for Nuclear

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Friday that he wants $10 million in the upcoming budget for research and development for energy technology, including $5 million focused on nuclear.

“Today I am pleased to propose a $10 million investment in the upcoming budget to turn Virginia into a leader in energy innovation,” Youngkin said in the announcement. “With technologies like carbon capture and utilization, and resources like critical minerals, hydrogen, and nuclear, we will make Virginia the epicenter for reliable and affordable energy innovation.”

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Qualifying Families Need to Apply for Free School Meals After End of Pandemic-Era Student Meals Provided to All

Eric Burk

The Virginia Department of Education is reminding families qualifying for free meals for students to apply for the program after pandemic-era federal provisions for free meals for all students expired at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, meaning that otherwise qualifying families could face charges for meals starting on the first day of school.

“School meals are important sources of nutrition for students and help reduce food insecurity in the Commonwealth,” Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow said in a Monday VDOE newsletter. “I urge all families to apply to determine if they qualify. Filling out an application is simple and takes less than 15 minutes.”

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