If Hillary Clinton running mate Tim Kaine had his way, Virginia residents would today be paying billions in higher taxes. As governor, Kaine sought to impose nearly $4 billion in higher taxes, including an income tax hike on families earning as little as $17,000 a year. He also pushed for higher taxes on distilled spirits and cigarettes.
Income Tax Hike on Working Families: Kaine tried to Increase the bottom tax rate from 5.75% to 6.75%, directly affecting low income families earning as little as $17,000 annually. As noted by Politifact Virginia: “Not everyone at that level would have paid more under Kaine’s plan, but it’s a safe bet that large number of them would have seen their overall tax bill rise.”
Alcohol Tax: Kaine pushed a 2% markup on distilled spirits sold in Virginia’s fully monopolized state-owned retail stores.
By law, Virginia residents and businesses must purchase distilled spirits from the monopoly Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) stores. Residents can’t even escape the regime by buying their beverages elsewhere, because Virginia only allows residents to bring home one gallon from another state. Rather than reform the system, Kaine tried to squeeze more money out of hard working Virginians. He called for a two percent across the board markup, which would have raised the retail price for people shopping in ABC stores as well as those enjoying a beverage in a restaurant. Virginians would have had no choice but to pay the Kaine-imposed markup. Kaine’s attempted $8 million beverage tax hike was part of his final budget proposal, released Dec. 18, 2009.
Cigarette Tax: Kaine pushed a 60-cents per pack cigarette tax increase on smokers, whose median income was about $40,000 per year. Kaine’s record in support of tax hikes made him an attractive running mate Hillary, who has proposed a series of tax increases totaling at least $1 trillion over ten years.
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