RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) — On Wednesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin shared his budget amendments with Joint Money Committees, in the General Assembly Building.
The current budget is based on a revenue forecast made in Dec. 2023.
Youngkin said the 2024 results exceeded that forecast, with a $3 billion surplus.
Following that multi-billion dollar surplus, more funds are available for things that are important to Virginia families.
“Reducing tax burdens so Virginians can keep more money in their pockets is not a Republican or Democrat issue, but a common sense issue,” Gov. Youngkin said.
For education, Youngkin is proposing $290 million for school construction, $25 million for lab schools, and $517.6 million increase for direct aid for K12 and higher education.
One of the suggested amendments deals with what he calls a terrible tax: the car tax.
“The average car tax for a family of four today for their one car if they have one car is about $290 and so this tax relief is structured to address exactly that,” Youngkin said.
His amendment calls for a $150 credit for households with an annual income under $50,000 and a $300 credit for households with an annual income under $100,000.
Youngkin also wants to eliminate the state tax on tips.
“No more taxes on tips. you earn it you keep it. This reduces taxes on Virginians by 70 million dollars a year,” Youngkin said.
Republican Delegate Wendell Walker said we should be encouraged by this budget.
With the budget that the governor is proposing and with what the legislators are going to come out with, I think it’s going to be a win win for everybody in the Commonwealth,” Del. Walker said.
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Luke Torian, who is a Democrat, says working together with the gov. is what will set them up for success
“He recognized that it is a collaborative effort to put together the budget and so we will go forward with that intention in mind,” Del. Torian said.
As we go through this budget, there may be some things that adjustments are made to.
“We’ve got to make sure at the end of our session that we have a balanced budget that we can give to the Governor to sign,” Walker said.
The General Assembly reconvenes on Jan. 8.
State lawmakers will have about two months to work through the governor’s amendments to the budget.
