2004 Spring Bulletin| Teachers union launches all-out attack on Virginia taxpayers
|
| Virginia Education Association attempts $1 billion tax grab |
What’s happening in Richmond?
As this is written, the Virginia General Assembly
is meeting in an extended session ordered by the Governor because the
Assembly has not yet carried out its constitutional responsibility to
approve a biennial budget for the next two years (FY2005 and FY2006).
Specifically, the General Assembly cannot
compromise on three proposed budgets, each of which proposes a massive
tax increase for the biennium:
- Republicans who control the House of Delegates
propose a $1/2 billion increase by eliminating sales tax exemptions for
major businesses.
- Democrats, through Virginia Governor Mark R.
Warner, propose a $1 billion tax hike, primarily by raising the
Virginia sales tax from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.
- Republicans who control the state Senate now
propose a $2 billion tax increase by also raising the sales tax as well
as the recordation tax, titling tax, fuels tax, motor vehicle
registration fees, and motor vehicle rental taxes.
These tax increases are in addition to an extra $1.8 billion in new revenues available to the state without any tax increases.
Not for transportation
These three tax increase proposals have two features in common. First, they provide no new money for transportation.
Governor Warner’s $1B proposal promises to only stop raiding the transportation fund for non-transportation purposes. This
would have been believable, perhaps, if a constitutional amendment were
enacted to safeguard the so-called Transportation Trust Fund.
However, the state Senate Finance Committee
defeated a resolution (SJ18) for such an amendment on a tie vote, with
most senate Republicans voting against the measure and all Democrats
supporting it. Republicans opposing the measure were Senators Chichester, Hanger, Potts, Quayle, Stosch, Wampler, and Watkins.
The House Republicans’ $1/2B increase
continues raiding nearly $200M of insurance premium taxes that had been
earmarked for transportation.
The Senate Republicans’ proposal was initially a
$3.6B tax hike of which $1.6B was for transportation. However, at the
beginning of the extended session, the Senate Republicans dropped their
$1.6B transportation initiative.
Mainly for public schools
The second feature that the three tax
hikes have in common is that the program getting the biggest spending
increase is public schools. Governor Warner’s $1B tax hike increases
public school spending by $722M. The House Republicans boast that they
increase public school spending by even more, $810M.
The Senate Republicans’ $2B tax hike increases public school spending by $983M more than Governor Warner’s $722M increase.
So while the Senate Republicans increase
transportation spending by zero, they increase public school spending
by $1.7B. They also increase spending on higher education by $200
million more than Governor Warner.
Never enough
The table below is taken from the Review of State Spending: December 2003 Update,
published by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
(JLARC), page 9. It compares, between 1981 and 2002, the
inflation-adjusted increase in spending for major state programs with
the corresponding increase in the population served. Over that period,
public school enrollment increased 12 percent. However state funding
for public schools increased 105 percent. (See second entry,
"Department of Education Budget.")
In other words, inflation-adjusted state spending for public schools increased almost nine times faster than enrollment.
Similarly, inflation-adjusted budgets of
Virginia four-year public colleges and universities increased over
three times faster than enrollment (105 percent vs. 29 percent). (See
fourth entry, "4-Year Public College & University Budgets.")
While education spending soared, transportation
spending languished. Toward the bottom of the table it is found that
the Department of Transportation budget (VDOT) increased less than half
as fast as the vehicle-miles traveled on Virginia roads (38 percent vs.
96 percent).
The House and the Governor increase public school spending about nine
percent per year, and the Senate much more. To keep up with enrollment and
inflation public school spending needs to increase about three percent per
year. Why are the Governor and the General Assembly increasing education
spending three times faster than enrollment and inflation while neglecting
transportation?
Enter the VEA
The short answer is the Virginia
Education Association (VEA), which is putting tremendous pressure on
the government to increase school spending. To do so, the VEA created a
front group called the Alliance for Virginia’s Students
(www.vastudents.org). Co-sponsors of this front group include the
Virginia PTA, Association of School Superintendents, Association of
Elementary School Principals, Association of Secondary School
Principals, Middle School Association, School Counselors Association,
Virginia School Boards Association, Virginia Association of Counties,
and the Virginia Municipal League.
Prior to the start of the current General
Assembly, the VEA successfully pressured most delegates and state
senators to sign a pledge "… to support and work for additional state
dollars …" for schools. The VEA mailed glossy brochures statewide,
organized a 700-person rally on the state capitol grounds, and
generates emails to the General Assembly. It is difficult for grass-roots activists to compete with the union-funded lobbying of the VEA and its sister organizations.
Misleading numbers
To justify its $1 billion tax grab, the VEA argues that Virginia ranks 13th in the nation in per-capita income but 44th in state government funding for schools based on that income. What the VEA does not acknowledge is that Virginia ranks 22nd in the nation in per-student spending for public schools (See U.S. Census Bureau report, Public Education Finances 2001, issued March 2003.)
Also, the VEA does not acknowledge the JLARC
finding, cited above, that inflation-adjusted state spending for public
schools has been increasing nine times faster than enrollment. Other
states have also dramatically increased public school spending, which
is why Virginia does not rank first after such a large spending
increase.
The VEA also argues that local real estate taxes
are high because the state is not paying enough for schools. However
both local and state governments get their revenues from the same
taxpayers. Furthermore, if the VEA gets its way both state and local
taxes will increase.
No incentive to teach
The VEA tries to justify soaring school
spending by citing the increasing number of special needs students. A
major reason there are so many special needs students is that schools
do not use phonics-based reading instruction. Children who cannot read
have special needs, and schools can demand more money if they can
identify more special needs students. The schools therefore have a conflict of interest: poor teaching means more money.
Misleading statements in Governor Warner's
State of the Commonwealth address (January 14, 2004)
Governor Warner: "Some will say we should cut spending. I agree, and we have done so. …
We have closed the largest budget shortfall in Virginia's history - more than $6 billion."
Fact: Spending is up by $2.5 billion, not down by $6 billion. Since Governor Warner took office in January, 2002, state spending has increased by $2.5 billion,
from $23.5 billion in FY2002 to $26 billion in FY2004. Governor Warner
had wanted to increase FY2004 spending by $4.5 billion instead of $2.5
billion. He also wanted to spend an extra $2 billion in FY2002 and
FY2003. Since 1998 Virginia spending has increased by $4 billion more
than needed to keep up with population growth and inflation.
Governor Warner: "We
have reduced state agency spending by 20% on average. We have
eliminated more than 50 agencies, boards, and commissions - and
thousands of positions in state government."
Fact:
Governor Warner reduced the number of state employees by three percent,
far less than the 20 percent reduction he cites. Most of the positions
he had cut are restored in his proposed budget. Salaries for state
government positions account for only about a third of the state
budget. Overall spending increased.
Governor Warner: "Doing
nothing means the state will continue to pass the buck to local
governments who will have to raise property taxes - and that just isn't
fair."
Fact:
Either way, taxpayers will have higher taxes, either higher state
income and sales taxes or higher local real estate taxes. What is more
likely is that local taxes will still increase even if state taxes
increase. The only way to cut taxes is to cut wasteful spending.
Governor Warner: "In education, 100,000 more students will enroll in our public schools by 2010."
Fact: What
this statement overlooks is that public school spending has been
increasing much faster than enrollment. According to the Virginia Joint
Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s report, Review of State Spending: December 2003 Update. Virginia inflation-adjusted spending for public schools has been increasing nine times faster than enrollment. If inflation is included, public school spending has increased nearly twenty times faster than enrollment.
Areas of waste in public
schools include the failure to teach phonics-based reading instruction.
This failure perpetuates the minority student achievement gap. It also
results in many children being unnecessarily stigmatized as "learning
disabled", when in fact they simply were not taught properly. Public
schools have a conflict of interest in that the more special needs and
learning disabled children they can identify, the more money they can
demand.
Another area is guidance
counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Since the advent of
elementary school guidance counselors in the late 80s the number of Fairfax County Public Schools students recommended for expulsion has increased 100 times faster than enrollment (2300 percent compared to 26 percent). Counseling programs are not working.
Virginia should instead address the real causes of deteriorating
behavior such as Hollywood, the destructive influence of welfare on
families, the pressure put on mothers to choose careers over children,
and the schools’ so-called "progressive" curriculum.
Other areas of public school
waste are excessive use of computers, excessive administration, and
magnet programs that would not be needed if the there were a better
curriculum in the regular classroom. The only way to improve public
schools is through school choice.
Governor Warner: "In
higher education, 61,000 more students will seek to enroll in our
colleges and universities during this decade - at the same time that
tuition is rising …"
Fact:
Again, the governor does not acknowledge that college spending has been
increasing much faster than enrollment. According to the JLARC report
cited above, inflation-adjusted budgets for Virginia four-year
public colleges have been increasing more than three times faster than
enrollment. Also only 65 percent of freshmen at these colleges graduate within six years.
Governor Warner: "For
example, our Medicaid program is among the leanest in the nation. And
yet, two out of every three patients in Virginia's nursing homes now
depend on Medicaid."
Fact: Regarding nursing homes, today only half as many of the elderly live with their children compared to fifty years ago. The elderly cannot be cared for at home when higher taxes drive both husband and wife into the workforce.
Also, Medicaid spends $1 billion on welfare families. Welfare, by
giving unmarried mothers subsidized medical care (Medicaid), housing,
food, and childcare has created an incentive for out-of-wedlock births.
Since massive welfare spending began in the 60s under Lyndon
Johnson’s Great Society, the percentage of American children born out
of wedlock has increased from seven percent to 33 percent. Welfare
reform has not reduced the out-of-wedlock birthrate. Single-parent
children are at high risk for poverty, academic failure, poor health,
and crime. Welfare has devastated African-American families: Two-thirds
of African-American children are now born out of wedlock.
Governor Warner: "In
corrections, our prisons and jails are already seriously over-crowded,
due to parole abolition and tougher sentencing. More inmates require
more space."
Fact: The Governor is glossing over the rapid increase in the prison population. According to the JLARC report cited above, Virginia’s
prison population has increased during the last two decades almost ten
times faster than population growth (318 percent vs. 34 percent). This may be due family breakdown caused by welfare.
A child born out of wedlock is three times more likely to commit crime
than a child born to married parents. According to the Heritage
Foundation, Wisconsin, the only state to have investigated the
connection between family background and incarceration rates, found
that "teenagers of always-single-parent families are 22 times more
likely to end up in jail than are those from two parent families"
(Heritage Foundation, Issues: 2002, p 172). The high
incarceration rate of African-American males is probably due to the
destruction of African-American families brought on by welfare.
Nationwide, one out of three African-American males goes to prison,
compared to one out of 17 whites. However, if these statistics are
adjusted for family structure there is no difference between
African-American and white incarceration rates.
Governor Warner:
"Our budget increases transportation funding by $392 million."
Fact: When
he presented his tax hikes to the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce,
the Governor stated explicitly that there was no new money for
transportation. Rather what he is pledging is to stop raiding funds
already earmarked for transportation, which he has apparently been
doing during the last two years. Experience suggests that he will
not keep his word unless there is a constitutional amendment preventing
raids on the transportation "trust" fund. On Feb. 11, the senate finance committee defeated such an amendment (SJR 18) on a tie vote.
The reason for the transportation crisis is that no income taxes are spent on transportation.
Income taxes are reserved for education and welfare. The result, as
reported in the JLARC report, is that while public school and public
college spending have increased much faster than enrollment,
transportation spending is barely keeping up with population growth.
What is required to fix the Virginia budget’s "structural imbalance" is
to allow transportation to compete against wasteful education and
welfare programs for income tax revenues.
Governor Warner: "Together, we won passage of a bond package to upgrade our state parks, colleges, and universities."
Fact:
According to the Virginia Campground Association, of the three million
dollars raised for the pro-bond glossy mailers, $2.3 million came from
the construction industry, real estate and land speculators who stood
to profit from the bonds. The VCA bases this statistic on information
from the Virginia Public Access Project.
Governor Warner: "Finally, our budget and tax reform plan preserves our fiscal integrity and protects our AAA bond rating."
Fact:
Virginia’s bond rating is at risk due to excessive bond sales. Ten
years ago, revenues from Virginia bond sales were four times larger
than the debt service paid on the bonds. Now bond-sale revenues are
about the same as debt service costs. New bonds should not be sold
until all old bonds have been paid off. However, Virginia is selling
bonds every year.
Governor Warner: "To
me, it just doesn't make any sense that someone earning only $17,000 a
year in Virginia should pay the same tax rate as someone earning
$500,000 a year."
Fact:
However, the Governor’s plan has those making $17,000 per year paying
the same higher sales tax as those earning $500,000 per year.
Governor Warner is not
reforming taxes. He and Senator John Chichester are trying to raise
taxes to subsidize harmful, out-of-control spending. They are raising
taxes for insensitive government programs that perpetuate class
differences, unnecessarily stigmatize children as "learning disabled",
foster unsafe schools, destroy families, and multiply the number of
felons.
Virginia
would have better schools, stronger families, and less crime, if taxes
were lowered, welfare and entitlements phased out, and massive public
school spending supplanted by school choice.
Visit www.governor.virginia.gov/Press_Policy/EventsandSpeeches/2004/StateoftheCommonwealth2004.htm
I will NOT raise taxes." October 10, 2001 — Candidate Mark Warner
What I believe the people of Virginia want is they want people who will keep their promises."
March 25, 2003 — Governor Mark Warner
You can always count on me to support . . . smaller government [and] lower taxes."
May 9, 2003 — State Senator Chichester, quoted by The Richmond Times Dispatch
FCTA in the NEWS!
~ The following is an editorial appearing in the Washington Times, December 2, 2003 ~
Mark Warner’s Fixation
I will not raise taxes! I will not raise
taxes! I will not raise taxes!" That quote, courtesy of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, was Mark Warner, speaking on Jan. 24, 2001. "Let me set
the record straight: I will not raise taxes." That was Mr. Warner in a
television commercial nine months later, as his campaign for governor
entered the home stretch. Once Mr. Warner was elected governor the
following month, however, everything changed. The governor spent
virtually all of last year campaigning in favor of referendums that
would have increased sales taxes to pay for transportation projects in
Northern Virginia and Tidewater. In the end, all he received for his
efforts were a pair of humiliating political setbacks. But the governor
is not one to give up easily.
For months, the worst-kept political secret in
Virginia was the governor's desire to push some kind of tax increase
package through the General Assembly in the name of reform. Last week,
he released many of the specifics of his tax plan. While it contains
some positive points, it is laden with provisions that redistribute the
tax burden in ways that make the "rich" pay more. Unfortunately, his
plan does nothing to deal with the crux of the problem: state spending
that continues to balloon. Still, it's a smart political strategy. By
announcing it and lobbying for passage right after the election, Mr.
Warner gave legislators the maximum time possible before they have to
face the voters.
Mr. Warner proposes: increasing the sales tax
from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent; increasing the state cigarette tax,
now 2.5 cents per pack, by 25 cents; and allowing counties to impose a
local tax on tobacco of up to 50 cents.
On the positive side, Mr. Warner says he has
decided not to propose extending sales taxes to cover services. He also
proposes reducing the sales tax on groceries from 4 percent to 2.5
percent; phasing out the hated car tax by 2008; increasing the personal
exemption for individuals and married couples; and abolishing the
estate tax for working farms and family-owned businesses.
In addition to the sales and cigarette tax
increases, the Warner plan contains other troubling features.
Currently, all taxpayers pay an income tax of 5.75 percent. The
governor wants to create a new 6.25 percent bracket for taxable incomes
of more than $100,000. While such a backdoor tax increase proposal
faces tough sledding in the House of Delegates, where Speaker William
Howell and most Republican members are deeply skeptical of tax
increases, the same can't be said of the Senate, where lawmakers like
Finance Committee Chairman John Chichester may well try to increase
sales taxes or delay a phaseout of the car tax.
Unfortunately, the governor's (and some
Republicans') fixation with increasing taxes causes them to ignore the
need to control spending. Statistics compiled by the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance,
for example, show that, from fiscal year 1997 through fiscal year 2004,
spending would have needed to increase from $17.1 billion to $21.7
billion to keep up with inflation and population growth. Instead,
Virginia is expected to spend $26 billion next year. It's time for
Mr. Warner to stop fixating on redistributing the tax burden and take a
serious look at ways to rein in spending. (Emphasis added.)
(c) 2003 The Washington Times
FCTA General Assembly 2004 Scorecard
Fairfax County Delegation
See also FCTA Statewide 2004 General Assembly Scorecard
Notes:
Best score is 100; worst score is 0.
"+" indicates vote for FCTA position. "-" indicates vote against FCTA position.
Passed By Indefinitely (PBI) defeats a bill
"A" - absent; "NV" - note voting
| Dist. |
Delegate |
Party |
HB1001 |
HB60 |
HB1081 |
HB4 |
HB1298 |
HB1488 |
SB465 |
SB635 |
HB30 |
SB643 |
FCTA Score |
| 42 |
Albo, David B. |
R |
NV |
|
|
+ |
+ |
- |
|
|
- |
|
50 |
| 44 |
Amundson, Kristen J. |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
+ |
|
|
+ |
|
40 |
|
34 |
Callahan, Vincent F., Jr. |
R |
- |
|
|
+ |
+ |
- |
|
|
- |
|
40 |
|
41 |
Dillard, James H., II |
R |
- |
|
|
NV |
+ |
- |
|
|
- |
|
25 |
|
49 |
Ebbin, Adam P. |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
+ |
|
|
+ |
|
40 |
| 40 |
Hugo, Timothy D. |
R |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
90 |
|
38 |
Hull, Robert D. |
D |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
NV |
22 |
|
46 |
Moran, Brian J. |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
+ |
|
|
+ |
|
40 |
|
37 |
Petersen, J. Chapman |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
- |
|
|
+ |
|
20 |
|
36 |
Plum, Kenneth R. |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
+ |
|
|
+ |
|
40 |
|
67 |
Reese, Gary A. |
R |
- |
|
|
+ |
+ |
- |
|
|
+ |
|
60 |
|
86 |
Rust, Thomas Davis |
R |
- |
|
|
+ |
+ |
- |
|
|
- |
|
40 |
|
53 |
Scott, James M. |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
- |
|
|
- |
|
0 |
|
35 |
Shannon, Stephen C. |
D |
- |
+ |
A |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
50 |
|
43 |
Sickles, Mark D. |
D |
- |
|
|
+ |
- |
A |
|
|
+ |
|
40 |
|
45 |
Van Landingham, Marian |
D |
- |
|
|
- |
- |
+ |
|
|
- |
|
20 |
|
39 |
Watts, Vivian E. |
D |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
20 |
(1/29/04) HB1001: Hugo bill to raise hotel
taxes 2 percent for Economic Development Authority and a convention
center - Passed on House floor, 77-21 FCTA position is to vote against
passage.
(2/04/04) HB 60: Increase gas tax by 6.5
cents per gallon - Finance Committee Passed By Indefinitely, 17-5. FCTA
position is to vote for PBI.
(2/04/04) HB 1081: Governor's tax bill to
raise taxes by $1 billion - Finance Committee Passed By Indefinitely,
13-7. FCTA position is to vote for PBI.
(2/10/04) HB 4: Estate tax elimination - Passed on House Floor, 69-29. FCTA position is to vote for passage.
(2/17/04) HB 1298: Reese bill to fund gov't
without tax hikes - Passed on House floor, 62-38. FCTA position is to
vote for passage. Ignored by Senate Finance Committee.
(2/17/04) HB 1488: House sales tax
exemption elimination - Passed on House floor, 61-35. FCTA position is
to vote against passage.
(2/25/04) SB 465: Increase cigarette tax
from 2.5 to 35 cents per pack - House Finance Committee Passed By
Indefinitely, 17-5. FCTA position is to vote for PBI.
(2/25/04) SB 635: Chichester tax bill
increasing taxes and fees by nearly $4 billion - House Finance
Committee Passed By Indefinitely, 16-6. FCTA position is to vote for
PBI.
(2/26/04) HB 30: House budget bill that
increases taxes by $1/2 billion - Passed on House floor, 65-35. FCTA
position is to vote against passage.
(3/01/04) SB 643: Saslaw bill to raise
Fairfax County meals tax without a referendum - Finance Committee PBI
14-5. FCTA position is to vote for PBI.
|
Senator |
Party |
HB1001 |
SB643 |
SJ18 |
SB465 |
SB635 |
FCTA Score |
| Cuccinelli, Ken |
R |
+ |
+ |
|
+ |
+ |
100 |
|
Devolites, Jeannemarie |
R |
- |
+ |
|
- |
+ |
50 |
|
Howell, Janet D. |
D |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
20 |
|
Mims, Bill |
R |
- |
+ |
|
- |
- |
25 |
| O’Brien, Jay |
R |
+ |
+ |
|
+ |
+ |
100 |
|
Puller, Linda T. |
D |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
0 |
|
Saslaw, Richard L. |
D |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
20 |
|
Ticer, Patricia S. |
D |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
0 |
|
Whipple, Mary Margaret |
D |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
0 |
(2/05/04) HB1001: Hugo bill to raise hotel
taxes 2 percent for Economic Development Authority and a convention
center. Passed on Senate floor, 35-4. FCTA position is to vote against
passage.
(2/11/04) SB 643: Saslaw bill to raise
Fairfax County meals tax without a referendum - Passed on Senate floor,
28-11. FCTA position is to vote against passage.
(2/11/04) SJ18: Janet Howell resolution for
a constitutional amendment to protect Transportation Trust Fund from
transfers to non-transportation funds. Defeated in Senate Finance
Committee 7-7. FCTA position is to vote for passage.
(2/20/04) SB 465: Increase cigarette tax
from 2.5 to 35 cents per pack - Passed on Senate floor, 26-12. FCTA
position is to vote against passage.
(2/20/04) SB 635: Chichester tax bill
increasing taxes and fees by nearly $4 billion - Passed on Senate
floor, 27-12. FCTA position is to vote against passage.
Have you renewed your membership for 2004? Please renew if the date on your mailing label is before April 1, 2004.
The Taxpayers Alliance supports lower taxes, less spending,
and restrained borrowing by our government as well as citizen
participation in government through initiative, referendum and recall.
We testify at public hearings, write citizens committees, disseminate
voting records of elected officials, write 'op-ed' articles and letters
to newspaper editors, provide speakers to citizens groups and analyze
and disseminate information on budgets, taxes and borrowing.
To accomplish our goals we need volunteers and dues-paying members.
We would like to hear from you. Please take the time now to return this
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Name(s)____________________________________ Mail To: The Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance
Address___________________________________ P.O. Box 356
City/State/Zip_______________________________ Fairfax, Va. 22030
Telephone__________________________________ 703-642-5567 NL1-2004
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A Citizen Speaks Out
~ Reprinted email from a concerned citizen, Paul Bjarnason, to his State Delegate and State Senator in Richmond
To : Mssrs. Hull and Saslaw
From: Paul Bjarnson
Subject: No Tax Increases
Dear Mssrs. Hull and Saslaw —
As your constituent I want to register
my stern objection to the package of tax increases that is on the verge
of being signed into law. I had always been satisfied with the way
Virginia has handled its finances in the past, but I am now changing my
mind. My spouse and I are retired and on fixed incomes. Our retirement
income went up about 1 percent last year (a so-called cost of living
increase), while our true costs of living are going up much faster. Now
the tax increases will just make matters worse. The government should
learn to spend within its own means, as we taxpayers must do. Actually,
the state has it much better than we taxpayers on fixed incomes. This
is because most taxes have built-in raises, because they are based upon
percentages of things like income, purchase prices or property values.
In the last elections, the voters spoke
loud and clear about tax increases. It is obvious that the government
has little regard for the views of the majority of taxpayers!
Best regards.
Paul Bjarnason
Annandale, Virginia
Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance and
NorthernVirginiaGOP.com
Taxpayer Rally
Protest out-of-control taxes!
Monday, March 29, 6:30—7:30 p.m.
in front of the Fairfax County Government Center
Just before the Board of Supervisors 7:30 p.m. Budget Public Hearing
12000 Government Center Pkwy Fairfax VA 22035
(near Fair Oaks Mall)
Join us if you are tired of …
- double-digit annual real estate tax increases (up 70 percent in five years)
- tax hikes that don’t fix anything
- politicians who repeatedly raise taxes and then say they don’t have enough money
- politicians who say they need more taxing authority in order to cut taxes
- higher taxes for crowded roads and mediocre schools
