Virginia GOP Gov Youngkin: $2 billion surplus sign state taxes too high

Virginia recorded a budget surplus of nearly $2 billion at the close of the fiscal year, which GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin thinks is a sign taxpayers are forced to give too much money to the government.

“While I am pleased that our additional revenue can be reinvested in Virginia, the commonwealth’s general fund revenue surplus confirms that Virginians have been overtaxed for way too long," Youngkin said.

“As inflation hits another 40-year high, I’m proud that our budget provides almost $4 billion in tax relief to Virginians, the largest tax relief in the commonwealth’s history,” the governor also said.

The relief measures included raising the standard deduction and ending the state’s portion of the grocery tax, but failed to reach Youngkin’s aims of doubling the standard deduction and ending both the state and local portions of the grocery tax.

The governor’s plan to provide gas tax relief through the budget also failed. The larger tax cuts passed the Republican-controlled House, but were blocked in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

"We have a lot of work left to do to recover from the pandemic, but Virginia’s economy is demonstrating promising economic and company growth with major companies such as Boeing, Raytheon, and LEGO moving their headquarters to Virginia,” the first-term governor also said.