“Adherence to men is often disloyalty to principles.”
 – John Taylor of Caroline

A Citizens' Agenda
for Better State Government 

A coalition of Virginia citizen groups and legislators has come together to introduce the Freedom & Prosperity Agenda – a citizens' agenda for better state government that protects the properties, incomes, and futures of all Virginians.  These 11 planks will need the grassroots support of people across Virginia to ensure our state legislators pass them into law.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT
WHAT YOU CAN DO
TO SUPPORT THE AGENDA

THE PLANKS:  

1. Pass a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights 

A Constitutional Amendment creating a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) would limit increases in state spending to the rate of population growth plus inflation. It would also require any annual surpluses to be refunded to the taxpayers unless a public referendum allowed the government to use the excess revenue for a specific purpose. A public referendum would also be required before the legislature could raise the spending limit. 

For more information on passing a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in Virginia:

     a. Virginia Institute for Public Policy TABOR Study 
     b. Spending Reform, Not Tax Reform
 

2. Rein in skyrocketing real estate taxes by basing them on the acquisition value of property 

In some parts of the state, real estate tax assessments are increasing by 20% or more each year. This makes it difficult for homeowners, especially older citizens on retirement incomes, to pay their taxes. Some families are being forced out of homes they have owned for 30 years and paid off long ago, because they can't afford the rising tax bill. In many cases, the taxes are more than the original mortgage payments! 

A Constitutional Amendment would base real estate taxes on the acquisition value of the property, rather than the current market value, and would limit the annual assessment increase to 2%.
 

3. Eliminate the car tax 

This would make good on the promise the state government made to the taxpayers back in 1997 to totally eliminate the car tax on the first $20,000 in value on personal use vehicles. The tax has currently been reduced by 70%, not the 100% promised eight years ago.
 

4. Eliminate Virginia's death tax 

Death (or estate) taxes are very large taxes that the state and federal governments collect from you after you die. Sure, you've already paid income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and many other taxes on your money and property during your lifetime, but this is one last grab from government when you can't fight back. The taxes are due just a few months after death, so often the family business or family farm has to be sold to pay them. Not only are family businesses and farms lost, so are all the jobs they created. 

For more information on eliminating Virginia's death tax:

     Oops, Weren't We Going to Lower the Death Tax?
 

5. Strictly limit the public uses for which private
property may be confiscated from private citizens 

In Virginia, state and local governments have the authority (called eminent domain) to force you to sell your private property to the government for “public uses” such as building new roads or schools, or for public utilities. The definition of “public use” has been stretched to extremes, and increasingly governments are taking people's homes and businesses and handing over the property to private developers to build more expensive homes and businesses just because they will generate higher tax revenues. 

Virginia's laws must be reformed to protect private property, beginning with redefining “public use” to prohibit governments from taking property that they intend to turn over to private entities for private purposes. 

For more information on limiting the public uses for which private property may be confiscated from private citizens:

6. Allow parental choice in education 

Since 1980, inflation-adjusted spending for K-12 education in Virginia has increased ten times faster than enrollment. Despite the fact that the U.S. leads the world in per pupil spending, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that 65% of Virginia's public school students score below their grade levels. 

We know: 1) the government has a near-monopoly on K-12 education; 2) monopolies always produce an inferior product at a very high cost; and 3) the government assigning a child to a particular school because of its location makes no more sense than a person being assigned to a particular college or hospital because of its location. 

If parents' tax dollars are paying for the education of their child, then it should be the parents' choice as to which school best meets the needs of their child. Tax credits for all families, rich or poor, would help them afford the public or private schools of their choice. 

For more information on allowing parental choice in education:

7. Create freedom and fiscal accountability for Virginia's public colleges and universities 

The current system of state government subsidies and controlling regulatory oversight for public colleges and universities is flawed and must be changed. Schools, students, and the taxpayers of Virginia would be better served if the schools were under state contracts where they would receive block grants based on the number of instate students they enroll. Each school would then be able to manage its own resources, free of bureaucratic micromanagement from Richmond. 

In exchange, schools would agree to: 1) enroll a specified number of in-state students, 2) cap in-state tuition at an amount substantially below market levels, and 3) admit in-state students without regard to financial need, while providing financial aid to increase access to higher education for all Virginians. 

For more information on creating freedom and fiscal accountability for Virginia's public colleges and universities:

     Imposing Market Discipline On Public Colleges and Universities
 

8. Protect Transportation Trust Fund money from
being used for any other purpose 

None of Virginia's income tax revenues and only 10% of state sales tax revenues are spent on transportation. To make matters worse, $332 million was raided from Virginia's Transportation Trust Fund in 2002 and used for purposes other than transportation. 

When citizens are told they are being taxed for a particular purpose, it is a matter of public trust that the revenues should only be used for that purpose. The Virginia Constitution should be amended to prevent the Transportation Trust Fund from ever being plundered again. 

As Thomas Jefferson said, “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”
 

9. Eliminate the War of 1812 tax (BPOL tax) 

The Business Professional and Occupational Licensing (BPOL) Tax was initially passed to raise revenue to fight the War of 1812.  Also known as the gross receipts tax, it is a tax on gross sales that businesses must pay to local governments. Even though many startup businesses don't even make a profit for the first several years, they are still subject to the tax on their gross revenue (revenue before business expenses are taken out). In addition, local governments have implemented this tax differently, which places yet another administrative burden on businesses with multiple locations — they must calculate each tax separately that they owe to each locality.
 

10. Require expiration dates for all new taxes and
all tax increases 

As is demonstrated with the War of 1812 tax that is still with us 194 years later, our state government is reluctant to repeal unnecessary taxes. Often the government claims an “emergency need” for a new or increased tax, yet when the emergency is over, the tax doesn't go away. 

Every new tax and tax increase should come with a sunset provision (an “expiration date”). If the government feels it necessary to keep a tax after the expiration date, legislators will have to publicly debate and secure the votes to pass the tax again.
 

11. Eliminate the prepayment of the sales and use tax 

To balance the budget for fiscal year 2002 (which ended in June), the state government required businesses to make two payments of their sales and use taxes (the monthly payment due in June, plus an advanced payment for July). It was supposed to be a one-time event, but the following year, the legislature made this prepayment an annual event. 

This is like your mortgage company telling you it wants two payments this month because it is having trouble balancing its books. Your mortgage company is not allowed to pull this trick, and the state government should not be allowed to do it either.

HOW CAN VIRGINIA “AFFORD” TAX CUTS? 

Many of these 11 planks are revenue neutral or actually save the state money. The 2003 Wilder Commission report, commissioned by Gov. Mark Warner, identified more than $1 billion in cost savings that the state could realize by cutting waste and inefficiency. That money, plus the $2.5 billion tax surplus begun in 2002, can be used to offset these tax cuts and still create a balanced budget for Virginia.
 

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE AGENDA: 

• Endorse the Agenda
  
  
• Sign up for email updates
  
  
• Click here to contribute financially to efforts to grow the grassroots and lobby legislators to promote the Agenda
  
  
• E-mail us today to get involved in promoting the Freedom & Prosperity Agenda where you live: JTaylor@TertiumQuids.org
  
  
• Talk to your friends about the Agenda
  
  
• Call your State Senator and Delegate and ask them to support the Agenda. You can reach them at http://legis.state.va.us or by calling:
  
  When the General Assembly is not in session
  (804) 698-1500 House of Delegates
  (804) 698-7410 Senate 
  
  When the General Assembly is in session
  (800) 889-0229 (outside Richmond)
  698-1990 (Richmond area)
  
  
• Organize a large group of friends or a public event and ask for a speaker to come and talk about the Agenda. For a speaker, contact:
  
  Tertium Quids
  (703) 753-2268 • Fax (703) 753-1900
  Email: JTaylor@TertiumQuids.org

Tertium Quids
7326 Early Marker Court • Gainesville, Virginia • 20155
(703) 753-2268 • Fax: (703) 753-1900 • JTaylor@TertiumQuids.org