The Road Less Taken: Creating Fairer Taxes, As Well As Better Highways
Governor Kaine and the General Assembly have a major crisis on their hands: they have a comprehensive plan to fix the Commonwealth’s transportation woes, but no money to pay for it. Funding schemes under consideration offer a variety of options including a range of tax increases. But another problem looms if the proposals currently being circulated are adopted: Virginia will have unintentionally hurt its low- to moderate-income wage earners more than higher income workers.
The 2008-2010 Budget and Caboose Bill
The General Assembly passed a compromise budget on March 13, 2008. The passed budget incorporates the General Assembly’s combined changes to the budget introduced by Governor Kaine on December 17, 2007. It also takes into consideration the revenue reforecast released in mid-February. The Governor has time now to consider the compromise budget and offer his amendments to it. The budget will then return to the General Assembly for a one day veto session on April 23.
New Study Shows Union Membership Improves the Pay of African-American Workers
A report released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research entitled, “Unions and Upward Mobility for African-American Workers,” reveals that union membership continues to serve a critical role in offsetting economic inequality.
The Single-Sales Factor (SSF): The Economic Development Tool That Isn’t
The General Assembly is considering a major change to the way Virginia taxes corporations (House Bill 1514). The new approach, a single-sales factor, is often heralded as a useful tool for economic development because it is said to make expansion of property and payroll within a state more attractive. But, there are significant drawbacks to this costly new approach. Before adopting it, lawmakers need to fully consider the effects that HB1514 is likely to have on Virginia’s economy.
Fiscal Facts: The Tax Contributions of Virginia’s Undocumented Immigrants
With all the emphasis placed on how much undocumented immigrants are costing the state, there is a side of the immigration story that often goes untold. Another side to the story is equally important: contributions that undocumented immigrants make to state resources in the form of payroll, income, property, sales and excise taxes.
Invest Now, Save Later: The Benefits of Targeted Pre-Kindergarten
Governor Kaine’s proposal to expand pre-K education in Virginia has created debate concerning its costs. Opponents objecting to the overall price tag, point to the worsening fiscal picture of the state and declare that the state cannot afford it. Often ignored in this debate are the benefits of an expanded program. To better understand the overall picture for expanded early childhood education in Virginia, the benefits must also be quantified.
How Property Taxes Hit Home: Understanding Property Taxes in Virginia
The Governor and General Assembly are offering a potential solution to the problem of rising property tax bills: a constitutional amendment to allow local government to rollback as much as 20 percent of a home’s value from property tax through what is called a homestead exemption. But the homestead exemption may not provide the relief people are looking for. Alternative reform proposals — such as a flat dollar exemption or a circuit breaker plan — could offer targeted relief to those Virginians most in need, without threatening the ability of local governments to provide the quality of services that residents have come to expect and demand.
The Governor’s Proposed Budget: 2008-2010
The Governor’s proposed budget lays out a reasonable approach for closing the funding shortfall in the current budget and modest expansions of programs in select areas for the upcoming biennial budget.
The Growing Divide: The State Of Working Virginia
Virginia’s economy has experienced sustained and robust growth in recent years, yet not all Virginians are benefiting equally from the state’s economic success. Wages have failed to keep pace with spiking worker productivity, and some working families have seen their incomes decline. From a bird’s eye view, Virginia’s economy appears to perform relatively well compared to neighboring states and the nation- yet closer inspection reveals that the Commonwealth’s increasing prosperity is not reaching all workers, industries, and communities.
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