Bolling: Excess Money in Budget Should Be Returned To Taxpayers

Governor Youngkin is absolutely right about this: Va. Gov. Youngkin urges budget deal as excess revenue hits $5 billion.

With $5 billion in excess revenue there is no reason why that vast majority of this money should not be returned to the taxpayers in the form of a significant one time tax rebate or permanent ongoing tax cuts.

The question is, can Youngkin muster the leadership and influence to bring the evenly divided General Assembly together around a resolution in a hotly contested election year?

I think they will ultimately get it done. Republicans and Democrats both have too much to lose to let this opportunity pass.

As they head into the fall campaigns, Republicans want to proclaim the tax cuts, while Democrats want to redirect much of this money toward investments in education, mental health care, etc. Both parties love to have excess revenues to pass around, albeit for very different reasons.