For years, Democrats have argued that making the earned-income tax credit permanent would help lower income Virginians. But when the governor sent the General Assembly a budget amendment to do just that, Democrats rejected the idea as fiscally irresponsible in an environment of uncertainty.
Senate Majority Leader Ryan McDougle said that was a mistake.
"That should be where we are striving to put certainty and confidence in tax policy, and they should have passed,' McDougle said Wednesday night. "We should not be balancing the budget of the commonwealth on the people who are working hard and trying to make ends meet for their families."
Democrats also rejected a budget amendment that would have extended the standard income tax deduction, a move Republicans say would provide tax relief to most Virginians.
Senator Adam Ebbin is a Democrat from Alexandria who argued now is not the right time to do that.
"What we didn't do is we didn't say we are going to take a credit card to overextend ourselves in the future when we don't know what the future holds. We would be happy to be able to make those permanent next year when we see how much damage is done out of Washington, DC," Ebbin said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin now has to decide what he wants to do with the budget members of the General Assembly sent him this week. The new fiscal year starts in three months.
In a statement Wednesday night after the session ended, Youngkin thanked legislators for their work.
“Over the next 30 days I will review and take final action on the bills and budget amendments that have been sent back to my desk," Youngkin said.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
