House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement today in response to the Democratic majority’s rejection of two Republican-led tax relief initiatives:“While I am pleased with the passage of the Sales Tax Holiday for 2011, the majority party in the House has once again squandered an opportunity to bring long-term tax relief to the residents of the Commonwealth.
Although I cannot say I am shocked that the Democrats have once again deferred to a mystical, magical time in the future to have an open and candid debate regarding the sales tax, I am disappointed that we are not capitalizing on an opportunity that has clearly been effective in the past. To make the sales tax holiday a reoccurring yearly event would not only bring tax relief to our citizens, but would help spur our local economy.
The fact of the matter is that revenues have come in higher then we initially predicted for Fiscal Year 2011 – hence the Republican Party’s attempt to roll the sales tax back to 5% via a two-step process. We believe the state’s stronger financial position should result in relief for taxpayers, or at least a debate about the possibility. It would certainly help to start the conversation about reversing the tax increases the Democratic Party approved to help address the financial crisis.”
