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By Walter Longyear
Rappahannock News
Contributing Writer
One question people commonly ask about Jim Gilmore’s proposal to eliminate the property tax on vehicles valued under $20,000 is: Where’s the money going to come from to pay for the tax cut?
I’d like to answer that question.
Right now, the Commonwealth of Virginia is bringing in tax revenue faster than it can spend it. Even after increasing state spending by $500 million this year, there is a one-quarter of a billion dollar surplus.
State tax revenue has increased 7.8 percent annually for the past four years. This year the increase is 8.2 percent.
Gilmore has projected an increase in state tax revenues during the next four years very conservatively, only 6.2 percent. That is equal to $5.5 billion in new revenue.
Let me make this clear: This is $5.5 billion more than is needed to pay for the existing state budget.
So if people think, “They will cut this tax, but won’t we pay higher taxes somewhere else?” the answer is no. This won’t require any cuts in spending or higher taxes on other things.
No one argues over whether or not tax revenues will increase. In fact, Democrat Don Beyer’s new spending proposals and his own tax cut plan are based on an almost identi
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