First They Came for the Data Centers, But Will It Stop There?
Building Virginia into the leader of the data center industry for the United States and the world has been a bipartisan goal of several recent governors and General Assemblies. The golden egg laying goose they nurtured is now in danger of being butchered. What is happening to this one industry during the 2026 General Assembly […]
House and Senate Budgets Propose No Major Tax or Spending Increases
The Senate and House of Delegates’ financial committees met on Sunday to approve competing sets of amendments to the next Virginia budget, neither proposing any general tax increases. The Senate version included modest tax reform: a small taxpayer rebate for this year and an increase in the income tax standard deduction. The Senate, however, allows […]
Supreme Court Restores the Rule of Law and, for a Moment, Increased Economic Freedom
The Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump is a landmark reaffirmation of one of the Constitution’s most fundamental principles: the power to tax belongs to Congress alone. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly vests in the legislative branch the authority “to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” Tariffs are taxes, and the Court […]
Stacked Local Taxes Are Making Virginia Less Affordable, Not More
Virginia’s restaurant and lodging sector is still in a fragile post-COVID recovery, yet local governments across the Commonwealth are piling on new and higher taxes that make affordability worse for families and survival harder for small businesses. A new statewide analysis of meals, lodging, and related sales taxes across all 133 Virginia localities by the Virginia […]
Revenue-Hungry Democrats Give Themselves a Buffet of Tax Increase Choices for 2026
Governor Abigail Spanberger so far is no more clear on her tax and spending priorities than Candidate Spanberger was, but her fellow Democrats in the General Assembly are laying out a smorgasbord of tax increase options for her. Would she like a major “tax the rich” approach? Start with Delegate Vivian Watt’s House Bill 979, pending in […]
Youngkin Proposes More Tax Relief in His Final Budget, Which Still Sets New Records for Revenue, Spending
Governor Glenn Youngkin has proposed that Virginia conform its tax rules to most of the changes in federal taxes adopted by Congress last summer, including recognizing a state tax deduction for tip income, overtime pay and interest payments on car loans. Those tax policy recommendations are part of the Republican’s final introduced state budget package, […]
Progressives Urge Assembly to Soak the Rich, But Likely Tax Increases Will Reach Everyone
As a new Democratic Party trifecta looms in Virginia, a progressive policy group has floated a long list of old and new ways to soak Virginia’s upper-income residents through taxes in order to fund additional state spending. The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis doesn’t use the word “spending,” of course, but speaks of “investments” in “quality public […]
Conforming to Trump’s Tax Bill Would Save Virginians $1.4 Billion More
Should the 2026 Virginia General Assembly choose to conform state tax laws to the full set of new tax rules at the federal level, Virginia families and businesses might save as much at $1.4 billion annually. That is a fresh estimate from the Tax Foundation, which looked at the impact of full conformity in all 50 […]
One is Enough: End the Front License Plate Requirement in Virginia
by Gabrielle Brohard The Commonwealth of Virginia currently mandates that most passenger vehicles display two license plates—one on the front and one on the back. While this policy may seem minor or administrative, it has direct financial, environmental, and practical implications. With a growing number of states abandoning this outdated requirement, Virginia should follow their lead. Eliminating the […]
Tariffs on Medicine Put Virginia Patients at Risk
The Thomas Jefferson Institute’s opposition to President Trump’s tariff regime is now well known. Taxing imports only hurts those the President hopes to help most. While the President’s recent call to extend tariffs to foreign made films has gotten a lot of press, little attention is being paid to President Trump’s recent threat to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical […]