Thursday, June 12, 2008

Governor Talks Transportation at Leesburg Meeting

Today's Loudoun Times features a story about Gov. Tim Kaine's transportation plan meeting held in Leesburg last night. The meeting was a lead up to the General Assembly's June 23 special session on transportation where Kaine will pitch his plan to raise taxes and fees to pay for transportation projects throughout Virginia.

According to the Times article...

"More than 100 residents and local elected leaders filled an auditorium at Harper Park Middle School to hear Kaine describe a plan to increase the state's retail and car sales taxes and as well as the grantor's tax home sellers pay to fund road and transit improvements.

As Kaine described, his plan, which will raise about $1 billion annually, includes a statewide 1 percent hike in Virginia's vehicle sales tax and a $10 increase in its vehicle registration fee. These changes, he said, will generate about $250 million a year to fund maintenance of existing roads and bridges.

Kaine also is proposing to raise the retail sales tax by 1 percent in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to fund road projects in both regions. In Northern Virginia, he said the change would create more than $300 million a year starting in 2009.

Finally, Kaine said he also wants to raise the grantor's tax home sellers pay at closing by 25 cents for every $100 of a home's sale price. The majority of the $150 million a year this would generate, he said, would go toward public transportation, with the rest to be set aside for statewide economic development."

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