Arthur G. Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance (FCTA), announced today an anti-tax press conference and rally to be held at the Fairfax County Government Center on Monday, April 8, 2002. Mr. Purves is speaker #1 at the supervisors' 7:30 p.m. budget hearing, also on April 8.

The press conference will be held in rooms 4 and 5 on the first floor of the Government Center, at 5 p.m. The rally will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the circle in front of the Government Center entrance. Co-sponsors of the rally are Republicans United for Tax reform (www.republicanaction.com) , the Fairfax County Young Republicans, and the Conservative Nominations Committee.

To offset the 16 percent increase in residential assessments, these groups are urging the supervisors to set the real estate tax rate at $1.06. The current rate is $1.23. Setting the rate at $1.06 is not a tax cut; it only prevents a tax increase. If the supervisors follow through on their plan to leave the rate at $1.23, they will be enacting a $187 million tax increase.

At the press conference, the FCTA will propose over $200 million of specific budget reductions in ineffective school and county programs.

"The supervisors and school board have indulged in reckless spending for 25 years," Purves said. "School staff has increased nearly four times faster than enrollment and produced no significant increase in academic achievement. Between 1975 and 1991, county staff increased nearly three times faster than population. If the county had limited spending increases to the rate of inflation, population, and school enrollment growth, we could have eliminated the real estate tax." Graphs of county spending are posted on the FCTA website, at www.fcta.org.

The Fairfax County Government Center is located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035. It is near Fair Oaks Mall.