Condemns Senate Rejection of House Funding Bill
RICHMOND – The Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP-VA) today applauded the House of Delegates for its bipartisan decision to kill a 33 percent gas tax hike sponsored by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (Fairfax).
"Hiking taxes should be a last resort in these uncertain economic times," said AFP Virginia Director Ben Marchi. "This gas tax hike would have hurt Virginia families at a time when they don't have a penny to spare. House Democrats and Republicans did right by taxpayers to stand up against Senator Saslaw's plan to stick it to the poorest Virginians who can't afford to pay higher gas prices."
Sen. Saslaw was the chief sponsor of Senate bill 6009, which originally included not only a gas tax hike but also a five percent sales tax increase and new car sales tax increase.
Separately, Americans for Prosperity condemned State Senate Democrats for killing a House bill that would have provided transportation funding to both Northern Virginia as well as Hampton Roads without raising taxes. In its amended form House Bill 6055 contained no new regional or statewide taxes. It would have dedicated 30 percent of state tax revenue growth attributable to Northern Virginia airports and Hampton Roads marine ports to fund transportation projects in those regions.
"The Senate Democrats wanted a plan to pay for transportation and a bipartisan House of Delegates gave it to them – then they killed it," said AFP-VA Western Chairman Delegate Ben Cline (R-Lexington). "I am disappointed by the Senate's actions and thought they'd want to go home with something rather than nothing. Apparently they prefer to throw the baby out with the bath water."
"By killing the House's transportation solution, Sen. Saslaw has shown that he is more interested in partisan politics then meaningful solutions," Marchi concluded.
AFP-VA members have been on the front lines fighting proposed tax increases, and are proud to have joined with other organizations in this effort such as the National Taxpayers Union, The Family Foundation of Virginia, and Americans for Tax Reform.
In the last two months AFP-VA has traveled all across Virginia – from Lee County, to Virginia Beach, to Woodbridge – fighting unnecessary tax hikes. Hundreds of citizens from all over the Commonwealth attended these events and called their legislators to urge them to vote against more taxes. More than 150 activists gathered for a rally at the State Capitol at the start of the special session to send the message – Virginians are Already Taxed to the Max.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org.
The GOP plan would suck a pint of blood through regional taxes, tolls, fees and fines, yet lobbyists such as AFP have the gall to claim that the Democrat plan than uses a gas tax increase that would impact the average driver only $15 per year coupled with some fees to suck the same pint, to somehow be saving us from something.
ReplyDeleteThe only difference is that the Republican plan used more subterfuge to get the same revenue stream that the Democrat plan sought using a more transparent process.
Neither plan was very good and lacked an honest effort to extract some targeted cuts from the existing budget.
We weren't "saved from a 33% tax increase" since no matter what, revenue must be gained from somewhere, so sooner or later, and that always comes to rest on the citizen.
All we were awarded was a delay.
Next time let's see some serious work on targeted cuts and see what can be done to lessen the projected load; a load that should be shared by all who use our roads, with no tolls, no regional taxation and no foreign partnerships who own (or lease) Virginia roads.