Kaine talks transit tax in Prince William County
Donnie Biggs/News & Messenger
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine speaks during a town hall meeting about the upcoming transportation special session at the A.J. Ferlazzo Building on Tuesday in Woodbridge.
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By Lillian Kafka
Published: May 13, 2008
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine began a series of town hall meetings Tuesday pushing his newest investment plan — this time by raising a regional sales tax in Northern Virginia to upgrade its transportation system.
If Virginia doesn’t start investing in its infrastructure soon, its economy will suffer, the governor told a crowd of nearly 200 gathered at the A. J. Ferlazzo Building in Prince William County, where commuters in were ranked last year as having the fifth longest commutes in the nation.
Money that was going to build an interchange at U.S. 1 and Va. 123 in Woodbridge, for instance, has recently been shifted, along with about $80 million in other projects, to pay for road maintenance.
Kaine said this trend will continue until more than $600 million in new road construction would be removed from capital spending plans just to maintain roads.
Reversing this trend locally means raising the sales tax by 1 percent, Kaine said.
Other details of his plan include an increase in the statewide sales tax on autos, which is proposed to rise from 3 to 4 percent. Kaine’s plan also raises the statewide vehicle registration fee by $10.
The tax increases, however painful, would help Virginia invest in road and rail infrastructure critical to keeping its economic engines humming, Kaine said, as he presented his transportation plan to a room full of residents, business owners and some anti-tax group members.
“I think you need to cut taxes,” Bryan Martin of Woodbridge told Kaine during the meeting. “If you keep raising taxes, the people who are spending money to keep me in business are not going to keep spending that money.”
There are rules of math and there’s no free lunch,” Kaine responded.
“This is a balancing act as we try to find out ways to have people pay for this,” Kaine said. “The sales tax, which would be raised in Northern Virginia and would stay in Northern Virginia, would be paid by out of state [drivers], too.”
If the sales tax money were used on anything other than transportation, the tax would be disqualified, Kaine said.
He anticipated interest in the plan would vary across the state — rural residents could support his plan because it would help pay for bridges that remain closed because no money exists to replace them.
It could also help pave more than 300 miles of dirt roads in some areas, he said.
Greta Houston of Occoquan said she supports Kaine’s tax increase proposal. She’s been using a method of carpooling called “slugging” for 20 years to get her job in Washington, D.C.
“Those tax raises that you are suggesting are not that much,” Houston said.
However, opponents to the tax increases say there haven’t been enough cuts in state spending to justify a tax increase.
“I think there were more comments against raising taxes than there were for it and I think that’s important,” said Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Woodbridge.
Sharon Pandak, Kaine’s appointee to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, said Kaine’s proposed tax increases were small compared to the time and money spent sitting in traffic.
“When you talk about a tax, we’re already being taxed. Emergency vehicles can’t respond in a timely manner to help people. People need to look at these things,” said Pandak, who attended the meeting Tuesday.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( RSF750 ) on May 15, 2008 at 6:48 am
The problem isn’t the highways. The problem is the increase in people who are driving on the highways.
Many of these people have made choices to live a great distance from where they work. Maybe the solution is for people to live closer to where they work.
I think those who chose to live far away from where they work should bear the tax burden to build/repair the highways they use to commute during the work week.
I live close to whee I work. I do not want to bear the tax burden for those people who have chosen to drive long distances to and from work.
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Posted by ( Brian in the City ) on May 14, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads already pays their fair share of taxes and do not get an equal amount back. Why then should we be targeted for additional taxes? Richmond and Roanoke are large metro areas with a lot of roads to maintain, why do they get off for free? I am against raising taxes that the whole state does not have to pay. If necessary raise the gas tax for the entire state that is what it was designed for. Northern VA is generating tons of money for the state but whenever we need money to help keep the engine running Richmond what’s to tax us separately. This is TOTALLY UNFAIR. I am against raising the sales tax, for roads, especially only for Northern Virginia this is a slippery slope. If necessary RAISE THE GAS TAX. Those who use the roads more will pay more. This way those who drive less will pay less ie, the elderly and the poor.
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Posted by ( Bob Wills ) on May 14, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Posted by ( ejben ) on May 14, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Why don’t Mr. Kane send back to No. Va. a fair return on our tax money?
ejben It is the GA that keeps the money from coming back to N VA not this or anyother governer. Why don’t you get Frederick to get the money to come back to N VA. Oh that is right he just a say NO person without any solutions.
No BOCS or Delegate in PWC has any solution nor wants one for transportation. This way they keep blaming others and that gets them elected.
.
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Posted by ( jVA ) on May 14, 2008 at 2:35 pm
“Why don’t we cut back the number of employees in these high government offices? “
Wow. Great idea. We might be able build a new sidewalk somewhere under your plan.
Seriously people, taxes for the roads are not the problem. We’re not going to build the roads for nothing. Get over it.
The problem is that we need a guarantee that our transportation tax money gets spent on Northern Virginia roads and isn’t squandered elsewhere in the state by Richmond. I’ll pay an extra fifty cents at the pump if I can be assured the money will be spent improving roads in PWC.
Unless that happens, we’re right to resist any new taxes.
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Posted by ( ejben ) on May 14, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Mr. Kane and Ms. Pandak is of the same materal. Has never seen a tax they don’t like.
Why don’t we cut back the number of employees in these high government offices?
Why don’t Mr. Kane send back to No. Va. a fair return on our tax money?
And Mr. Nohe needs to start acting like a Supervisor for all citizens. Not just the weslthy.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on May 14, 2008 at 2:00 pm
A raise in the state’s gas tax is the only fair Solution. iT MAY BE THE n. vA. SUBSIDIZES THE REST OF THE STATE, BUT THAT ISN’T GOING TO CGANGE ANYWHERE SOON. Those folks are used to living a good lifde and not paying much for it. In addition, so many are republicans. Repubs like to lower taxes ans then borrow and spend wildly.
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Posted by ( Jim ) on May 14, 2008 at 11:49 am
Raising taxes, any taxes, for transportation is not the answer. We in Northern VA don’t get the monies that we send to Richmond back in services let alone for the area roads. If we are taxed more, the likelihood that the additional monies collected will be spent elsewhere in the sate is very high. Richmond needs to reconfigure its budget to pay for the roadwork as it should have been all along.
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Posted by ( AbolishtheNVTA ) on May 14, 2008 at 11:36 am
Why does Kaine continue to support the flawed NVTA. The NVTA has a clear record of repeated failures ranging from poor decisions to violating our rights. It’s time to abolish the NVTA.
Please help abolish the NVTA by reviewing and signing our new petition (VERY NEW, just started this morning.)
The link to the petition is: http://www.petitiononline.com/STOPNVTA/petition.html
Additional background on the reasons to abolish the NVTA can be found here: http://www.alextimes.com/article.asp?article=9183&paper=1&cat=143
Thank you for your consideration.
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Posted by ( sickoftaxes ) on May 14, 2008 at 11:20 am
Why should Northern Virginia be the only area taxed. I am sick of the Governor’s constant decision to place another tax on Northen Virginia residents. The money Northern Virginia pays now needs to be allocated just for Northern Virginia and not used for other counties in the state. Lets start making the other counties (south and southwest Virginia) in the state start paying their fair share. Northern Virginia should no longer have to subsidize the rest of the state.
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Posted by ( cjcanu01 ) on May 14, 2008 at 10:04 am
When does the taxation stop for continuing to be able to drive an automobile in the state of Virginia? Automobile registration fee’s, state sales taxes, state income taxes, gasoline taxes, automobile purchacing taxes, safety inspection fee’s for auto’s and of course personnel property taxes. Thats just to name a few.
The state of Virginia has continued to give poor excuses in justifying tax increases for transportation purposes…only one lane and in some cases two lanes of traffic have been added to the local interstate system since the late 1950’s, thats 50 years! and that folks is just inexcusable.
Ms. Pandak’s excuse for the tax is to improve emergency vehicle respond times? Its my opinion thats just another poor excuse due to the FACT that our roadways are so conjested now that its obvious why emergency response times may take longer than they should.
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