2017 is going to be a big election about the future of Virginia and Ed Gillespie knows what we need to do. Virginia families are feeling the squeeze, our approach to economic development is a relic of the past, and Virginia is losing ground to other states.
We need a plan to turn things around. Ed believes that cutting taxes is the key to economic growth in the Commonwealth. So as governor, Ed Gillespie will cut individual income taxes for all Virginians – leaving nearly $1,300 more in your pocket and creating more than 50,000 new full-time private-sector jobs.
The “Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians” Plan is driven by the need for a tax code that – instead of picking winners and losers – fosters natural, organic economic growth for all Virginians and is oriented toward our modern economy.
The plan is responsibly phased-in and fully funded within existing revenue growth to make sure Virginia can keep its commitments to education, health care, transportation, public safety, and other core services.
Virginia families are feeling the squeeze, our approach to economic development is a relic of the past, and Virginia is losing ground to other states.
Our economic growth rate has trailed the national average for five straight years. We even fell to the bottom 10 states for economic growth in 2014.
Virginia’s antiquated tax code was designed in a bygone era and our income tax rates have never been lowered since they were established in 1972.
Our tax climate ranking fell to 33rd in 2017, falling behind neighboring states like North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Our business rankings are falling and more people are moving out of Virginia than moving in.
The plan will cut income tax rates for all Virginians by 10 percent over a three-year period.
For a family of four, the “Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians” Plan will mean $1,285 more in your pocket when fully phased in. Economists predict this plan will lead to more than 50,000 new full-time private-sector jobs and more than $300 million in new investment when fully implemented.
Because the plan is phased in over time, we can be sure that state government will meet its existing commitments to education, health care, transportation, public safety, and other core services. This responsible plan utilizes 40 percent of projected revenue growth for tax relief, while preserving approximately $2 billion for new spending over the next four years.
The plan also puts Virginia on a path to reform the archaic local business taxes that stifle business formation and hamper job creation. These taxes are vestiges of a prior era when Virginia’s economy was growing by leaps and bounds despite these impediments to growth. Local governments, through no fault of their own, have come to rely on these job-killing, growth-stunting taxes.
The plan details specific steps to empower localities to replace these anti-growth taxes with revenue options that are less detrimental to growth – all while recognizing the need to appropriately balance state and local funding and services.
The plan will raise take-home pay for hard-working Virginians squeezed by stagnant wages and higher costs, orient our economy toward start ups and scale ups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, and make Virginia more competitive and attractive to businesses, retirees, and veterans, after three straight years of more people moving out than into Virginia.
Instead of solely focusing our efforts on throwing taxpayer dollars at big corporations and hoping they move to Virginia, this plan is crafted to create jobs and strengthen our economy over the long term through a more patient approach that will help start ups, entrepreneurs, and existing small businesses.
They are the key to sustainable, long-term job creation. The path to diversifying our economy will be charted by entrepreneurs given greater freedom to invest and innovate. They will identify the new sectors, services and products to flourish in Virginia, not a top-down government approach that picks winners and losers in the marketplace, and too often makes the wrong bets with your tax dollars.
Click here to read Ed’s full plan.