Senator Hanger & the 'Gas Tax'

If Emmett Hanger had his way SB 708 would be law and Virginia's consumer would be subject to a 5% per gallon tax on the wholesale price of gasoline in addtion to the $.35 cents a gallon we pay now. The IBD chart says $37.7, but I have always heard $.35.

At $2.50 per gallon (wholesale) the extra tax would bring the total per gallon to $47.5 cents, at $3.00 (seems where we're going) it will be $.50 per gallon.

Take a look at the chart I borrowed from Investors.com and at $.50 cents per gallon it would move Virginia into ninth place for highest gas taxes in the nation. It would actually be higher than NJ's $32.9 cents per gallon. Now we have heard quite a bit about Virginia being a great state to do business, but increases in taxes on a commodity like gasoline along with what has obviously been an exponential growth of the Commonwealth's budget in general over the past ten years is going to eventually drag our business environment down.

Seriously, why couldn't our General Assembly hold the line on the growth of our annual budget which has doubled in only the last 10 years, while the population has only grown 10%, and inflation has been only 2 to 3% annually? Now all the talk is about our coming budget deficit whereby the GA projected a 6.5% increase in revenues and our economy was only able to come up with 3.5%?

There is a simple solution to that, and it has to do with changing the Leadership in the VA General Assembly's Senate. Scott Sayre says "Let's stimulate business to encourage revenue growth". Now that's pretty Reaganesque thinking and I like that. Scott is a businessman that has had the burden of meeting a payroll, dealing with governmental Red Tape and regulations. He knows business, and he knows what businesses need to thrive.

Russ Potts and Chichester are gone, and we're working on one more here in the 24th. It is time for a change. Let's Thank Senator Hanger for his public service, and bring in some new blood.

Speaking of "Calls for lower taxes", & new Leadership on the Immigration issue is also a must!