We hear it all the time as a knee-jerk criticism against Ed’s plan to cut taxes by 10% for all Virginians: “These tax cuts cost too much.”
As soon as you hear that attack, you know they haven’t actually read the plan. Ed’s “Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians” Plan is responsibly phased in over three years and maintains funding commitments for education, transportation, health care, and public safety.
This tax cut will return approximately $1.3 billion to Virginians while, according to current projections, still see more than $2 billion in new investment in education, health care, transportation, public safety, and other core functions of government.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s A. Barton Hinkle raises another important point in the conversation over how much tax cuts “cost.”
“Much discussion revolved around how much the tax cuts would cost. That is a funny question to ask, from the taxpayer’s perspective. From the taxpayer’s perspective, a tax cut doesn’t cost anything. Like a price cut at a department store, it saves you money.
“The only entity for whom a tax cut could be considered a cost is the federal government. But an impressive number of people in the media also see it that way, which tells you much about where their sympathies lie.
…
“Most discussions of tax policy overlook a crucial initial condition: the ownership of the money before the government confiscates it. That is a moral consideration, or at least it ought to be. Pundits go on at great length debating whether the government can afford to let people keep a bit more of their own money. Very few ever ask whether the taxpayer can afford the high cost of government.”
So remember, when you hear people claim that tax cuts “need to be paid for,” it reveals their elitist view that our money is the government’s money, and the more of your own money you keep in your own pocket is a “cost” to the government.
So providing tax relief to hardworking individuals, families and small businesses is somehow seen as a “cost.”
Really? Now that’s phony math.
By putting more money back in Virginians’ pockets, Ed’s plan makes it clear that you are the best decisionmaker of how to spend your money.