Maybe I'm missing something here, but why even raise the possibility of a tax increase on car purchases when we all know that's a political non-starter in the Republican-controlled, anti-tax House of Delegates?
Kaine, who has been pushing for the increase since taking office in 2006, said such a tax increase would need a bipartisan consensus. Because he is not likely to spend time advocating for a higher tax, any proposal would face long odds in getting approved. Several House Republicans quickly rejected the idea.
Right, it would need a bipartisan consensus, and that doesn't appear forthcoming. On that point, our old friend Dave "Abuser Fees" Albo says, the "odds of a big statewide tax increase coming down the pike out of this body are about zero point zero, zero, zero." I think that means "zero." :)
On the other hand, I notice Bill Howell saying "he wants to work with Kaine 'so things can work out.'" Hmmm...is that leaving the door open a crack to reversing (in a roundabout way) Jim Gilmore's "no car tax" once and for all? We'll see, but I'm certainly not expecting it. More likely, a gas tax increase could be coming down the pike to pay for Virginia's enormous transportation needs, as well as to replace the hated abuser fees that Dave Albo's still running around defending. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, why raise the possibility of increasing the sales tax on cars unless there's a serious chance of it actually happening? Any thoughts?
Thanks for keeping up the discussion on this matter.
As for the topic at hand, IMO a car sales tax increase is not a bad idea but it's not as good as a gasoline tax increase.
Purchasing a new car is a rather infrequent activity but when it does happen it usually requires a good chuck of cash on hand. An increase in the car sales tax would make it a few hundred dollars more difficult at that single point in time.
On the other side, a gasoline tax increase would only cost a few cents per week. So even if the total amount paid over, say, a three year period was the same, the sales tax requires you to layout the entire amount at one time where the gasoline tax spreads it out over the full three years.
I do get Lowell's comment on Jim "No Car Tax" Gilmore(also applicable to boats)as a good Dem. vs no-tax GOP analogy. Just one very minor distinction: Gilmore's no-car-tax initiative only applied to personal property tax, which in turn only applies to Va. residents. At least sales tax applies to anyone who purchases a vehicle in Va. regardless of their state residency. But of course the result is still the same -- no possibility of a bill increasing car sales tax even getting out of committee.
Bottom line again is that increasing gasoline tax by just 1.5 cent per gallon (.005% increase assuming $3.00 per gallon) has a real chance of passage.
One more point: If we think of Kaine's preliminary sales tax idea as a bargaining chip similar to a labor union contract negotiation, that gives the GOP an opportunity to say they replaced Kaine's 2% tax increase and then take credit for "their" minimal .005% tax increase. Sounds to me like an excellent negotiation strategy. And Kaine can rightfully say he was willing to reach a compromise in the spirit of a bi-partisan solution: A win-win result for both sides and for Virginia.
T.C.
Easy. It's always good to let people see the bogey man in the closet. If you bring up a gas tax on its own its own, it looks pretty scary. But, line a gas tax increase alongside a return to something like the "dreaded car tax" and the ever-popular abuser fees....well, that's a whole 'nother story, isn't it? A small gas tax increase starts to look like a reasonable, rational alternative.