Information Alert: We Need Higher Taxes

Victoria Cobb, President
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

I thought that headline would get your attention. Because The Family Foundation has opposed increases in taxes over the years, we have gained a reputation as being "anti-tax." That isn't the case. Government is an institution given to us by God for specific purposes and that government needs to be funded through taxes. Even Jesus said that.

In the United States, our Founders created a government with specific jurisdictions. Today, however, our government is far outside those jurisdictions, spends far too much money in areas it shouldn't be involved in, and thus, continues to reach out to citizens to feed that insatiable appetite. Thus, we hear a never-ending call for higher taxes.

Case in point is the transportation issue. Many in Richmond, including Governor Kaine, would like us to believe that there is no other answer for the "transportation crisis" than to raise taxes. Senate majority leader Dick Saslaw (D-35, Springfield) said recently, "There is no way out of this without a tax increase."

Less forthright politicians put it in nice focus group tested phrases like "dedicated revenue stream" and "spreading out the pain" etc. But the fact is they are coming to us just 4 years after the largest tax increase in Virginia history asking for more.

So why then, other than we are just "knee-jerk anti-taxers," do we oppose this plan?

Let me give you just a couple of reasons why we at The Family Foundation, and I believe a majority of legislators, do not support a new tax increase.

First, have you ever heard of the "Transportation Trust Fund"? Well, it was created by the General Assembly in 1986 and funded by a "dedicated revenue source" specifically to pay for transportation projects. One half percent of the state sales tax is the "dedicated revenue." So you ask, why do we need a new "dedicated revenue source" if we already have one? Because the General Assembly keeps raiding the Transportation "Trust" Fund for other pet projects, leaving little or no money for road construction. Even this year, while claiming there is a transportation crisis, Governor Kaine proposed to raid the fund by nearly $200 million (oh, and while running for Governor, Kaine said he supported the amendment).

Before any new "funding stream" is forced on the taxpayers, a Constitutional Amendment should be passed to protect the Transportation "Trust" Fund and its existing dedicated revenue. The money meant for transportation should be guaranteed to transportation. Before you say, "Hey, great idea," you should know that it isn't a new concept. Several legislators have tried for years to pass just such an amendment, only to be blocked, first by the former Republican Senate leadership, and now by the Democrat Senate leadership. Clearly, those that do not support this have other ideas for the use of the Transportation "Trust" Fund.

Second, have you ever heard of the Byrd Road Act? Well, it's the law that the Virginia General Assembly passed that sets out who is responsible for roads. You see Virginia is a bit different from most states. Here, localities are not responsible for their own roads - the state takes care of them (in turn centralizing transportation planning in Richmond). What is interesting is when the Byrd Road Act became law - 1932! Why is that significant? It was passed to relieve the financial pressures of the Great Depression on counties as the state offered to take over responsibility and control of most county roads, creating the Virginia Secondary Roads System.

Today, that means that, for example, when Fairfax County decides to build a 500 home development, they do so without any obligation to provide the infrastructure to that development. They then turn to the state and ask the state to take care of it - making the state determine which infrastructure need is more pressing of the 130 or so localities that are looking for help.

A simple solution would be to return responsibility for local roads to the localities (along with the money in the Transportation "Trust" Fund). That way, localities are obligated to make the tough decisions about growth and infrastructure, and citizens can hold them accountable. It also decentralizes decision making out of Richmond, where bureaucrats thrive and common sense dies.

Thus, transportation in Virginia is driven by one law we don't follow (Transportation Trust Fund), that should protect transportation funds, and one law we do follow (Byrd Road Act), that is outdated and impractactle.

Now, these are just two reasons The Family Foundation does not support increases in taxes for transportation - but there are more. We'll be brining those to you in the coming days.