Tell Your Legislators that Virginians Need Tax Relief NOW!
Last week Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that he is calling the General Assembly back to Richmond for a Special Session on April 4 in order to finalize the 2022-2024 biennium budget, and any bills that remained in a conference committee when the legislature adjourned a little over two weeks ago.
Budget deliberations that are taking place in a conference committee are primarily focused on how best to address the $16.7 billion surplus, including how much should be returned to Virginia taxpayers. Specifically, budget conferees are deciding on how far to cut grocery tax, the amount of any tax rebates, whether to double the standard tax deduction, if Virginia should cut gas taxes, and much more.
The House and Senate conferees remain at a stalemate over how to properly appropriate this significant surplus of current and future revenues. According to the Thomas Jefferson Institute, here are a few of the differences between the current House and Senate budget proposals:
The House proposal doubles the standard deduction, the Senate’s does not.
The House proposal provides families an annual savings of $517, the Senate proposal does not.
The House returns $5.1 billion of the $16.7 billion surplus to the Virginia taxpayers, but the Senate only returns $2.2 billion.
While legislators debate these budget differences, Virginians continue to feel the financial squeeze that’s making it challenging for them to pay for basic goods and services that are necessary for everyday life. Inflation and the cost of living is at a 40-year high with no relief in sight, and the average cost for a gallon of gas in the country is $4.25, according to AAA, with prices expected to continue to rise throughout the year.
Recent studies show that on average household’s will incur an additional $2,000 per year in gasoline costs, which is in addition to the $1,000 in extra costs at the grocery store due to inflation, resulting in about $3,000 less in disposable income this year.
It’s time for tax-and-spend liberals to stop standing in the way of much needed tax relief for Virginia families!
