Budget & Revenue
Virginia’s Tax System Is Upside Down
Virginia’s state and local taxes help to shape economic opportunity across the state. Unfortunately, the current state and local tax system is upside down.
EITC Gives a Boost to Women
For too many women in our state, work often does not pay enough. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) helps many hardworking families with low and moderate incomes, especially those with young children, make ends meet and also provides a number of other important benefits for families.
Medicaid Premiums and Copayments Will Make it Harder for Low-Income Virginians to Access Needed Care
The Virginia General Assembly passed a budget that directs the state to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in June 2018. Since then, much attention has been given to a provision requiring the state to apply for a waiver from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to impose a work requirement on certain low-income Medicaid enrollees in Virginia.
Responsabilidad federal, costos locales: El cumplimiento de las leyes migratorias en Virginia
La aplicación de las leyes de inmigración es una responsabilidad federal, sin embargo, las comunidades locales de Virginia están pagando parte de los costos a través de la cooperación voluntaria de las autoridades locales con el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) de los EE. UU. El alojamiento de los detenidos, el establecimiento de programas locales de ICE y el maniobro de las cuestiones legales relacionadas con el mismo, aumentan los costos para los gobiernos locales; costos que no son reembolsados por el gobierno federal.
Federal Responsibility, Local Costs: Immigration Enforcement in Virginia
Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, yet local communities across Virginia are paying for some of the costs through their local law enforcement’s voluntary cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Housing detainees, establishing local ICE programs, and maneuvering the related legal issues all increase costs for local governments -- costs that are not reimbursed by the federal government.
Rural Virginia Would Get a Boost from an Improved EITC
Over 100,000 families in rural and small town Virginia currently receive the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). That’s about one in six taxpayers who claim the EITC in Virginia.
Investing in Student Safety and Success: The Growing Importance of Effective Staffing in Virginia Schools
School counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses play essential roles in meeting the mental health needs of students, keeping all students safe, reducing the use of exclusionary discipline, and helping students achieve academic and career success.
Virginia’s Tax Choice: Another Break for the Rich or a Targeted Boost to Virginia’s Working Families
Virginia’s tax system is upside down. People earning low or moderate wages pay a higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the very wealthiest individuals, and most corporations pay no state corporate income taxes at all.
The Cost of Sales Tax Holidays
This coming weekend is Virginia’s annual “sales tax holiday.” Although sales tax holidays are pitched as a way to help families on back-to-school shopping, this policy provides little help to families who are most struggling to afford school supplies. Like other tax breaks, the cost of the sales tax holiday has to be made up somewhere in the state budget – either in the form of lower spending or higher taxes. And this one comes with a serious price tag of about $4.6 million per year in forgone state revenue – revenue that could be used to invest in schools.