The 2015 General Assembly session is looming in the headlights, and with it comes a welter of bills, some of which have the possibility of causing great embarrassment.
One of those is a tax increase (brought to my attention by an alert reader) proposed by Republican Sen. Charles Carrico in SB 754. It’s not a general tax increase. Rather, it’s an increase in the annual registration fee all Virginia drivers pay for the privilege of owning a vehicle. The aim of the increase is to support your friendly state police:
13. An additional annual fee shall be charged and collected at the time of registration of each pickup or panel truck and each motor vehicle under subdivisions 1 through 12. All funds collected from the fee shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be allocated to the Department of State Police.
a. Beginning July 1, 2015, such fee shall be $1.25 per year.
b. Beginning July 1, 2016, such fee shall be $2.50 per year.
c. Beginning July 1, 2017, such fee shall be $3.75 per year.
d. Beginning July 1, 2018, such fee shall be $5 per year.
e. Beginning July 1, 2019, such fee shall be $6.25 per year.
f. Beginning July 1, 2020, such fee shall be $7.50 per year.
g. Beginning July 1, 2021, such fee shall be $8.75 per year.
h. Beginning July 1, 2022, such fee shall be $10 per year.
i. Beginning July 1, 2023, such fee shall be $11.25 per year.
j. Beginning July 1, 2024, such fee shall be $12.50 per year.
There can be no doubt that Virginia’s state police officers need resources to do their assigned tasks. But this particular proposal strikes me as bad economics clothed in even worse election year politics.
But it also follows a time-honored pattern in Virginia state government: shun general tax increases in favor of new or increased fees.
Few people will notice the change until their bills arrive. And even then, the deed is done and the political fallout, if any, is muted.
Though should this little exercise in fee hiking pass, it could result in a revolt of moped owners, who by 2024 would be paying almost as much in Mr. Carrico’s new fee as they would for base vehicle registration.
