Arthur G. Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance (FCTA), announced today that an FCTA analysis shows that the typical Fairfax County household is paying $1700 more per year (or nearly $5 more per day) in state and county taxes than it paid ten years ago. This is despite the decline in revenues following the "dot-com" collapse and is adjusted for inflation. With inflation the typical household is paying nearly $3300 more per year or $10 more per day. This includes sales, personal property, real estate, and state income taxes. Fairfax County real estate tax increases have also completely wiped out the savings from the car-tax reduction. The so-called car tax cut masked a 20-percent increase in state and county taxes.

Mr. Purves stated, "This 20-percent tax increase generates an extra $600 million per year from Fairfax County alone. Almost none of it went to transportation. All income and real estate taxes and 90 percent of sales taxes are off-limits to transportation. The bulk of these taxes goes to schools, which have not improved, and welfare, which encourages out-of-wedlock births. What improved as a result of the extra $600 million in taxes? The sales tax referendum rewards government for neglecting transportation during a period of enormous revenue increases."