In this new era of fake news, it’s more important than ever that we, as voters, arm ourselves with the facts so we make informed decisions.
Recently, one of Ed’s opponents who supports higher taxes, criticized Ed’s “Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians” plan as based on “dishonest, phony math.”
We expect that Democrats will continue this false attack throughout the campaign, so we wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight.
Once Ed finalized his 10% across-the-board cut to Virginia’s individual income tax rates, our campaign submitted the full proposal to the Beacon Hill Institute for rigorous econometric analysis. They found that, once the plan is fully phased in, the average Virginia family would see $1,285 more in disposable income each year as a result of Ed’s tax cuts.
The Beacon Hill Institute’s respected economists use a thorough, rigorous formula-driven economic model that takes into account all of the dynamic components that make up our economy. It’s a process known as “dynamic modeling.” The Beacon Hill model has been used by state governments, think tanks, and other groups for decades and is battle-tested. Put simply: an economic model takes into account the positive impacts of tax cuts in generating a healthier, growing economy.
In addition to the reduction in money that Virginians will have to pay in taxes, the data shows that there will be numerous economic benefits from Ed Gillespie’s tax cut plan like higher wages, more full time employment, and new jobs. All these effects add up. In fact, they add up to $1,285 more per year for the average Virginia family.
We all know what the term average means – it means that some households will see less and some will see more. While our opponents complain that they will not have enough money to ‘invest’ on our behalf in more and bigger government programs, Ed’s plan recognizes that whether it’s $130 or $1300 or more – it all matters and is valuable to a Virginia family to spend as it sees fit.
Ed’s plan also includes plans to encourage local tax reforms, and the whole plan is phased in responsibly to protect core government functions.
We’d stack up the rigorous, scholarly econometric analysis against back-of-the-envelope math any day of the week. Those who criticize the numbers either don’t understand a dynamic model, or don’t believe that tax cuts (or for that matter, tax increases) affect economic growth and job creation.
And really, what they most object to is the notion of individuals and families keeping more of their hard earned dollars instead of the state government making decisions about how to spend their money.
Click here to read Ed’s full plan for cutting taxes and getting Virginia’s economy growing again.