2018 Tax Poll

Commentary By

Derrick A. Max

Derrick Max is Vice President of Policy at the Jefferson Forum and may be reached at dmax@jeffersonforum.org

Derrick A. Max

Derrick Max is Vice President of Policy at the Jefferson Forum and may be reached at dmax@jeffersonforum.org

Todd Hester

An ordained Presbyterian minister with over twenty years of service to the church. Originally from Travelers Rest, South Carolina, he received a BA in English from Furman University and an MDiv from Beeson Divinity School. He is formerly President and Founder of the Yorktown Foundation.

Commentary By

Jefferson Forum

HOW THE POLL WAS CONDUCTED

This poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida from December 14 through December 18, 2018. A total of 625 registered Virginia voters were interviewed statewide by telephone.

Those interviewed were randomly selected from a phone-matched Virginia voter registration list that included both land-line and cell phone numbers. Quotas were assigned to reflect voter registration by county.

The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than ± 4 percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the “true” figure would fall within that range if all voters were surveyed. The margin for error is higher for any subgroup, such as a gender or age grouping

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QUESTION: Recent changes in federal tax law will result in a two-year Virginia state revenue increase of $1.2 billion. Do you feel Virginia should: (ORDER ROTATED)

Use the additional money to expand funding for current state programs, or

Return the money to 2.8 million Virginia taxpayers by doubling the state’s standard deduction for individuals and couples.

SPENDRETURNNOT SURE
STATE28%59%13%
REGIONSPENDRETURNNOT SURE
Northern Virginia32%55%13%
Shenandoah/Piedmont31%56%13%
Richmond Metro36%53%11%
Hampton Roads23%62%15%
Lynchburg/Southside23%65%12%
Roanoke/Southwest23%64%13%
SEXSPENDRETURNNOT SURE
Men23%68%9%
Women33%51%16%
AGESPENDRETURNNOT SURE
18-3436%50%14%
35-4922%67%11%
50-6427%58%15%
65+30%58%12%
RACESPENDRETURNNOT SURE
White24%61%15%
Black41%52%7%
PARTY IDSPENDRETURNNOT SURE
Democrat34%59%7%
Republican17%68%15%
Independent34%48%18%

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DEMOGRAPHICS
PARTY REGISTRATION:
Democrat255 (41%)
Republican190 (30%)
Independent or Other180 (29%)
AGE:
18-34107 (17%)
35-49170 (27%)
50-64193 (31%)
65+149 (24%)
Refused6 (1%)
RACE/ETHNICITY:
White/Caucasian425 (68%)
Black/African American130 (21%)
Hispanic32 (5%)
Other28 (4%)
Refused10 (2%)
SEX:
Male299 (48%)
Female326 (52%)
REGION:
Northern Virginia170 (27%)
Shenandoah/Piedmont95 (15%)
Richmond Metro90 (14%)
Hampton Roads125 (20%)
Lynchburg/Southside75 (12%)
Roanoke/Southwest70 (11%)
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Mason-Dixon® Polling & Strategy-December 2018 Virginia Poll

VIRGINIA POLL REGIONS

NORTHERN VIRGINIA: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

SHENANDOAH/PIEDMONT: Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, Caroline, Louisa, Fluvanna,

Albemarle, Nelson, Greene, Orange, Madison, Culpepper, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rockingham, Augusta and Rockbridge counties and the independent cities of Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Winchester, Waynesboro, Staunton, Buena Vista and Lexington.

RICHMOND METRO: Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Powhatan, Goochland, New Kent and Charles City counties and the independent cities of Richmond and Colonial Heights.

HAMPTON ROADS: Accomack, Northampton, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Lancaster, Middlesex, Mathews, Richmond, Essex, King & Queen, King William, Gloucester, James City and York counties and the independent cities of Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Suffolk.

LYNCHBURG/SOUTHSIDE: Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surry, Southampton, Greensville, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Amelia, Prince Edward, Cumberland, Buckingham, Appomattox, Amherst, Campbell, Charlotte, Halifax, Pittsylvania, Henry, Franklin and Bedford counties and the independent cities of Petersburg, Hopewell, Franklin, Emporia, Danville, Martinsville, Lynchburg and Bedford.

ROANOKE/SOUTHWEST: Highland, Bath, Alleghany, Botetourt, Roanoke, Craig, Montgomery, Floyd, Patrick, Giles, Pulaski, Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, Bland, Tazewell, Smyth, Washington, Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, Wise, Scott and Lee counties and the independent cities of Roanoke, Salem, Radford, Covington, Galax, Norton and Bristol.

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Mason-Dixon® Polling & Strategy – December 2018 Virginia Poll

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