Youngkin surplus plan calls for $1.5 billion in tax relief

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - With a special session of the Virginia General Assembly set to begin Monday, Republican candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin has called on state lawmakers to return $1.5 billion of the state’s surplus to taxpayers.

Youngkin outlined the proposal during a campaign event in Richmond.

Lawmakers are returning to the State Capitol for the first time in over a year to allocate more than $4 billion in federal funding the state is receiving through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Democratic leaders have said the General Assembly will wait until the regular session in January to deal with the state’s $2.6 billion budget surplus, which is separate from the ARPA funds. But Youngkin says $1.5 billion should be returned immediately in the form of a one-time tax refund of $300 per individual, and a one-year suspension of recent gas tax increases.

Youngkin’s priorities for the ARPA funds include: fully funding the Virginia Unemployment Insurance Fund to prevent payroll taxes from increasing in 2022, providing a one-year tax holiday for small businesses on the first $250 thousand of income and funding universal broadband.

Other proposals include: a $500 payment for every public-school student to pay for learning loss recovery or counseling, and retention bonuses of $5,000 per sworn officer to help law enforcement agencies maintain force strength.

The Youngkin proposal would commit $2.6 billion to jobs, small businesses and broadband, $1.2 billion to Education and $500 million to public safety and mental health.

Representatives of the McAuliffe campaign have criticized Youngkin’s plan for the surplus, saying it will divert funding from Virginia’s public schools. And in a tweet Saturday afternoon, McAuliffe said, “Siphoning funds AWAY from public schools, like Glenn Youngkin has suggested, is the worst idea I have ever heard. Our public schools are the engine that keeps our Commonwealth moving, cutting their funding will set us back big time.”

For more information on the Youngkin proposal, click on the following link:

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