Thursday, April 15, 2004

In a new report, which ranks state and local tax burdens as a percentage of income in the 50 states, the foundation puts Virginia at No. 37--down a notch since 1999. "Over the past 14 years," adds the foundation's Web site, "Virginia's tax burden has consistently been among the lowest in the nation." State and local taxes, the low-tax advocacy group figures, take 9.3 percent of Virginians' income, versus a national average of 10 percent.

This datum, based largely on federal reports and echoing the findings of the nonprofit Federation of Tax Administrators, helps clear up a debate between GOP anti-tax zealots and their conservative brethren (that is, Republicans who would conserve Virginia's civic resources and its manifold reputation for excellence). The former claim that Virginia is already a borderline high-tax state and that the revenues sought by the Senate ($2.4 billion over two years) would make us the New York of the South. The latter argue that the Old Dominion's levies are low and that spending what's needed to boost and maintain the state's educational, health, and transportation assets would leave our tax load still moderate.

The Tax Foundation, weighing only state and local taxes, supports Main Street Republicans. For example, Virginia's corporate taxes are the ninth lowest nationally; in 2001, only nine states raked in less per-capita from these firms. Virginia's gas tax ranks 37th, and its 2.5-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes--raised 30 cents under the House plan narrowly approved Tuesday--is infamously 50th. Most telling is our sales-tax standing. Of the 46 states with such a tax, just nine have rates lower than Virginia's 4.5 cents on the dollar, while 33 impose higher rates. Does any of this sound like the Virginia taxpayer is being skinned alive?

posted by Shaun Kenney | 4/15/2004 10:59:00 AM | 0 comments

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