Youngkin proposes $1 billion in tax cuts, higher spending in budget planWashington Post, Dec 15, 2022
RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is proposing $1 billion worth of tax cuts as part of a wish list of changes to the two-year state budget that he said are aimed at making Virginia more competitive with other states.
The cuts would be on top of $4 billion in tax reductions the General Assembly approved and Youngkin signed into law earlier this year. They would hit at a time when Youngkin said he expects the national economy to face a downturn or even a recession, a prospect that many lawmakers have said makes them leery of reducing state revenue.
At the same time, Youngkin is proposing new spending for priorities such as wooing economic development, providing bonuses for teachers and law enforcement officers, remaking the state’s mental health-care system, and cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.
Youngkin said in an interview that because of economic uncertainty, he has designed his spending plan as an “accordion budget” that can flex or contract if conditions change. Out of some $3.6 billion in tax cuts and “targeted spending,” he said, $1 billion “is conditioned on hitting our [revenue] numbers on June 30. That’s the way we budgeted our businesses when I was running the Carlyle Group.”
Youngkin stepped down in 2020 as co-chief executive of Carlyle, a private equity investment firm, as he prepared to run for governor.
Youngkin outlined his proposals Thursday morning to members of the General Assembly’s money committees, who will consider them as amendments to the state’s two-year spending plan when the legislature convenes its next session on Jan. 12.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/15/youngkin-tax-cuts-virginia-budget-proposal/