Virginia’s tax code has needed a comprehensive overhaul for years: Expect plenty of talk on taxes, but no overhaul of Va.’s outdated code [1].
It’s based on a 20th century tax model that is unfair to individual taxpayers, businesses, and state government itself. But overhauling the tax code would require hard work and compromise. It would be popular among those who “ benefited” by changes, but not by others.
Unfortunately, a legislature that is increasingly polarized along political lines, and composed of legislators who have become “single minded seekers of re-election,” is not equipped to make these kinds of difficult decisions. So, we will muddle along with a seriously outdated approach to taxation.