February 24, 2025
Over 20 Virginia Organizations Demand Congress Reject More Tax Breaks for the Wealthy, Announce Major Tax Advocacy Campaign to Fight for Key Programs Like Medicaid
Today, 21 state-based organizations sent a letter to Virginia’s congressional delegation, calling on them to stand against tax handouts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations as part of the upcoming federal tax debate in 2025. The diverse group emphasized the failures of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and signaled they are ready to fight together in a joint demand for Congress, and our state legislature, to prioritize a fair tax code that supports Virginia families and rejects efforts to undermine health care access for hundreds of thousands of Virginians.
Read the letter to the Virginia Congressional Delegation here.
“The 119th Congress must prioritize a fair tax code that strengthens the Child Tax Credit and raises revenues for key priorities like public education and health care access. Virginia voters oppose efforts to give more tax handouts to billionaires and mega-corporations. Our organizational partners also strongly reject any efforts to pay for these tax giveaways by slashing funding for Medicaid and food security programs that support families in all areas of the commonwealth. Virginia’s congressional delegation should be fighting so that every Virginia family can thrive, not just the ultra-wealthy,” shared President and CEO of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis Ashley Kenneth.
Key highlights of the current tax debate and how it would impact Virginia:
- Analysis of some of Donald Trump’s campaign tax proposals shows that nationally the richest 1% of households, with incomes over $914,900 a year, would see an average tax cut of $36,320, and households in the bottom 20% of incomes, those with incomes below $28,600 a year, would see an average tax increase of $790.
- One of the proposed cuts to pay for potential tax cuts is cutting Medicaid expansion funding. In Virginia, any reduction from the federal government for Medicaid expansion, even a 1% reduction, would lead to the automatic disenrollment of over 630,000 Virginians.
- Congressional lawmakers are also considering cuts to SNAP. If cuts are proportionate to how much food assistance each state provides through SNAP, families across Virginia would be stripped of $480 million per year in benefits, which would also harm local supermarkets and economies.
