Governor Ralph Northam is agreeing to sign off on a Republican tax proposal, returning about half a billion dollars to taxpayers rather than investing the money in education and infrastructure.
The Republican plan cuts a refund check to taxpayers this year, then raises the state standard deduction beginning next year.
It also lowers taxes for people who have high home values, and correspondingly pay high property taxes. Here’s Republican Senator Tommy Norment.
“It cuts across every economic strata, whether you’re making 50,000 dollars or less. Or whether you’re making 300,000 or more,” says Republican Senator Tommy Norment. “Everybody’s going to get a benefit if you are paying taxes.”
Families that are too poor to pay state income taxes won’t get any money back.
And because it’s all being returned to taxpayers, the money can’t be spent. That’s what the Governor had first pushed for, using it to update school buildings, expand rural internet access, and clean Virginia’s waterways.
Governor Ralph Northam has not been seen publicly since he held a press conference on Saturday to discuss a racist photo found on his medical school yearbook page. But in a statement Northam said "I am pleased we have reached an agreement on tax policy that is equitable for all Virginians and allows them to keep more of their paychecks."
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
