Republicans double down on giving the biggest cuts to corporations
RICHMOND, VA – Today, the House Republicans jammed through their tax bills, which benefit big corporations and the wealthy, leaving Virginia families and small businesses in the dust. House Democrats tried to get Republicans to come to the table on a plan of their own – one that would immediately give more relief to the hardworking Virginians at less cost to funding essential services.
“I always say: don’t tell me your priorities. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you your priorities,” said Democratic Leader Don Scott. “The Republican tax bill is a giveaway to corporations – which will either mean tax hikes for families or deep cuts to services. The Democratic tax bill gives cuts to families and provides immediate relief to people feeling soaring costs. That’s because Democrats prioritize families, and Republicans prioritize corporations and the wealthy.”
“Republicans need to tell Virginians what they would cut in order to pay for corporations to keep making more and more at the cost of hardworking families,” Chair Charniele Herring said. “There’s no reason CEOs should be keeping more of what they earn than everyday Virginians.”
Delegates Vivian Watts, Marcus Simon, Jeff Bourne, and Sally Hudson gave floor speeches highlighting how out of touch the Republicans’ plan really is. “We finally have funds to catch up with our schools,” Delegate Hudson said, “Kids can’t take a 50 dollar tax cut to their understaffed school and say, “Now will you teach me how to read?”
In a speech yesterday, Governor Youngkin doubled down on his corporate tax cut, maintaining that he still plans to give big businesses more tax relief than Virginia families.
THE FACTS ON THE REPUBLICAN TAX BILLS
$1.5 Billion Republican Tax Bills Benefit the Wealthy and Corporations
The GOP Tax Bill Benefits the Wealthiest Individuals and Big Corporations
FACT: Big Corporations Get a Better Deal Than Small Businesses and Hardworking Virginians Alike
- Republicans are proposing to lower the Virginia corporate tax rate to 5%, lower than the current top tax rate most Virginia families pay, 5.75%.
- Some of the corporations aren’t even located in Virginia.
- This would let 246 corporations with taxable incomes over $10 million pay at a lower rate than an elementary school teacher.
FACT: Small Businesses Will Pay More In Taxes Than The Biggest Corporations In The State
- $362M goes to reducing the corporate income tax from 6% to 5%.
- Big corporations will get more than double the tax breaks given to small businesses.
FACT: The Republican Tax Bill Reduces the Tax Rate Largely for the Wealthiest Virginians
- The bill reduces the top tax rate from 5.75% to 5.5% – giving the most benefit to the top earners.
- This is a regressive change – giving a bigger break to the wealthiest Virginians.
FACT: Majority of the Republican Tax Plan Benefits Top Earners
- HB2319, part of the GOP Tax Plan, costs over $900M starting in July 2025.
- 4 out of 5 of those dollars will go to cutting the top rate, which means that most of this cut will go toward making the rich richer.
FACT: Over Half of Individual Taxpayers Would Benefit By $50 Or Less Annually Under the Republican Plan
FACT: The Virginia Department of Taxation’s Official Fiscal Impact Statements Say the Republican Tax Plan Will Cost $1.5 Billion – $500M More than Gov. Youngkin’s Claim
| Republican Plan | Democratic Plan | |
| Main Target | Corporations. The Republican plan lowers taxes the most for the wealthiest Virginians and corporations. On the other hand, over half of individual taxpayers would only have their taxes lowered $50 or less annually. | People. Virginia families would have their taxes lowered $230 annually. |
| Timeline to Help Families | Republican tax cuts start in a year – January 2024. | Democrats’ tax cuts would have started this year to reduce taxes taken out of hardworking people’s paychecks. |
| Total Cost | According to the Fiscal Impact Statements, will cost $1.5 Billion in FY2025. More than $900 million of that cost is for HB2319. | The substitute for HB2319 would only cost approximately $432 million for FY2025 ($396 million for larger increase to standard deduction than GOP bill, plus $36 million to make the EITC fully refundable per JLARC calculation) |