Local Delegate Makes His Mark With Controversial New Tax Proposals
Do you expect to use a plastic grocery bag, buy gas, or die? Scott Surovell wants to reach further in your wallet if you do.
If you plan on using a store-provided plastic grocery bag, buying gas, or dying, you should know that Mt. Vernon area Delegate Scott Surovell (D-44) would like to make each of these activities more expensive for you. The Virginia General Assembly has just commenced, and Scott Surovell has come out of the gate leading the way on efforts to create new taxes that would further burden Virginia families who are just trying to make ends meet.
Even before the General Assembly convened for the 2012 session, Scott very publicly stated that he wanted to raise Virginia’s gasoline tax. Sure enough, while he didn’t introduce his own bill, he immediately became a co-patron of HB 422, a bill that would raise Virginia’s gasoline tax by 4 percent.
What is ironic is that of all the communities in Virginia, families and individuals in Scott’s own Mt. Vernon-centered 44th district would be among those hardest hit by an increase in the gas tax. A recent study by On Numbers, a Bizjournals.com blog, compared the commute length of residents in 3,012 similarly sized communities. Commutes by residents of Mt. Vernon ranked number 2,902. Those of us who live in the Mt. Vernon area spend more time commuting in our cars than do 96.4 percent of our counterparts. If HB 422 passes, our longer commutes mean we will feel the pain at the pumps more than most others in similar communities.
Gas prices are now close to record levels, economic growth is weak, and Virginia families are trying harder than ever to make ends meet. In addition to hitting our wallets directly at the gas pump, rising gas prices also affect us every time we buy any good transported over our roadways. Northern Virginians already pay more than our fair share in transportation taxes. Instead of increasing our gasoline taxes, our legislators should be working to see that existing tax dollars are re-directed back to our community to pay for vital transportation upkeep and improvements.
Another one of Scott’s first actions this session was to become the first co-patron of a bill that would add a tax of 20 cents for each of the common plastic grocery bags we get at the store. The stated rationale behind this bill, HB 124, is to encourage the use of reusable grocery bags to cut down on the amount of litter. While no one wants increased litter and pollution, this bill is certainly not the way to make our communities cleaner.
HB 124 is a bad bill because it denies consumers a choice, while at the same time imposing hefty fines on those who don’t have, choose not to use, or forget their reusable grocery bags at home. We have reusable grocery bags in our house, and we use them regularly. But sometimes we want the plastic bags. My family, like so many others, uses them around our house for packing lunches and lining small trash cans for example. The right of Virginia consumers to choose is important and shouldn’t be treated like a crime with a punishment of a 20-cent per bag fine. Instead of punishing consumers, we should do more to encourage recycling. Recycling cleans up the environment and helps creates Virginia jobs in the recycling industry.
Maybe we can somehow avoid driving. Maybe we can avoid using plastic bags from the grocery store. But I have yet to come across anyone who has figured out a way to avoid death. And another one of Scott’s first actions in the House of Delegates was to become the co-sponsor of HB 419, a bill that reinstates the estate tax or “death tax” in Virginia. While there is an exemption on the estate tax for those owning a “closely held business or working farm”, if Scott had his way, the rest of us who worked hard and paid taxes while growing our estates would have our estates taxed again when we passed them on to our descendants.
The Virginia General Assembly repealed estate taxes in the Commonwealth in 2006, and the case against estate or “death taxes” has been made often at both the federal and state levels. I don’t need to repeat all the arguments. But there are plenty. Even those like Scott, who believe in the use of the tax code to manipulate human behavior, should be against estate taxes. Instead of encouraging positive behavior like hard work and saving, “death taxes” encourage people to spend all their wealth before they die instead of passing it along to their families.
In addition to reinstating the “death tax”, HB 419 increases the regulations on the nursing home industry. I am generally opposed to imposing new regulations unless absolutely necessary. Regulations often have a chilling effect on small businesses and individuals and dampen economic growth. Civilizations are often judged by how well we treat those on either end of the spectrum of life, and I do believe that we should ensure certain standards of care on the facilities taking care of our loved ones in their latter years. If Scott and others believe that further regulation of the nursing home industry is necessary, then the regulations found in HB 419 should stand alone in their own bill and be debated on their merits—they should not be tied to a reinstatement of the estate tax. I actually find it very cynical that these two efforts are linked. It seems that supporters of HB 419 want to make sure the elderly are better cared for, while picking their pocket on the way out.
When Scott and I ran against each other this last election cycle, he and I did not disagree on everything. We agreed that roads are not built with “pixie dust” and that government needs to raise funds to pay for legitimate expenditures such as investing in our transportation infrastructure. That said, I don’t think the default setting for a legislator should be to raise taxes on working families as a matter of first recourse. Instead of raiding the wallets of hard working families and individuals, I believe the first inclination of a legislator should be to try to reduce the size of government to its core functions, so that there is less of government that we have to feed.
Residents of the 44th district really hope the General Assembly successfully improves our local transportation infrastructure and helps boost small businesses and our local economy—things that make all of our lives easier. These bills that Scott has co-patroned—and is now trying to push through the legislative session—aren’t going to do anything to help us on either of those fronts. On the contrary, if they pass, we will find ourselves with government’s hand deeper in our pockets and with less left in our wallets.
T Ailshire
2:58 pm on Monday, January 23, 2012
At his town hall gatherings, Surovell always talks about the plight of the poor along US1. Not many of them have cars that get 25+ mpg (his basis for his "it won't hurt much" gas-tax claim), and further "fees" hurt everyone along the US1 corridor.
Yet he and others continues to treat the citizenry as a petty-cash fund.
T Ailshire
5:39 pm on Monday, January 23, 2012
Here's another: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB683
Jack Dobbyn
9:31 pm on Monday, January 23, 2012
Wow! Talk about a sore loser... Del. Scott Surovell is one of the best advocates for the poor Mount Vernon has. If Mr. Barsa had the slightest idea about the severe cuts to education and social services his party has been responsible for in Richmond, he would think twice before attacking such a dedicated public servant.
Martin Tillett
9:12 am on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
It's not a tax. It is a user fee. You use the stores bag, you pay for the bag. Bring your own cloth bag or a recycled plastic or paper bag you pay nothing. Avoid the fee by planning ahead. Keep some recycled plastic bags in your car trunk or a bag or two in your purse or pocket. What is wrong with personal responsibility that promotes a cleaner environment?
As to a gas tax, there is no question that funding for transportation projects is nonexistent without a revenue source. At present, most drivers in NOVA are losing money spent for gas in the form of fumes while stuck in traffic due to bottlenecks and an array of unfunded and needed transportation projects. We need sensible solutions to get us out of the transportation mess created by archaic views and cheap political tricks to raise the revenue to pay for the roads and other forms of transportation initiatives that are a necessary component for a successful business and economy in all of VA.
Beka Martinez
10:41 am on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Mr Dobbyn - Mr Surovell is NOT "one of the best advocates the poor in Mt Vernon has". If he was, then he would see that more of our tax dollars pumped into the social services and education systems actually went to serve the needs of the poor rather than the posh benefits plans and unnecessary holidays enjoyed by those who are supposed to be serving the needs of and educating "the poor".
Betsy Martin
11:02 am on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Mount Vernon Council of Citizens’ Associations urged Delegate Surovell to support a bill imposing a fee on plastic bags, and I’m very glad he did so, even though the bill failed in committee. Litter is a blight on the neighborhoods, parks, and waterways in the Mount Vernon district that degrades property values and our quality of life. Current laws are ineffective and the problem is getting worse. In D.C., a similar law imposing a fee on plastic bags has been effective in reducing litter, and it could work here, too. Montgomery County just passed a law that went into effect Jan. 1. Mr. Barsa says, “While no one wants increased litter and pollution, this bill is certainly not the way to make our communities cleaner.” Well, what is the way? Mr. Barsa says we should encourage recycling. It’s leveled off at about 39% since 2006. How would he encourage more recycling? He does not offer a single suggestion or idea for how to address the problem. If Mr. Barsa is going to bad mouth Scott Surovell for trying to take action to address the litter problem, he ought to step up to the plate with some proposals of his own.
S. Hyster
2:34 pm on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
How about implementing a tax on services provided by ambulance chasers in the Commonwealth? Seems like that could lead to plenty of spare $ to address the transportation issue, to fund a nice (or nicer) community pantry, and probably even fill the perceived fiscal void HB 419 seeks in part to address.
Martin Tillett
3:18 pm on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Lawyers are paid wages if working for a firm or fees if independent. Either case, those are wages upon which they pay social security and income taxes. Are you suggesting that they should pay higher income and social security taxes or that they should pay an additional fee above and beyond based on the percentage of the settlement they may earn for their client?
Mike Smith
12:41 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I think these are issues where both parties need to come to a common ground. I agree with Delegate Surovell when it comes to raising the gas tax. The tax hasn't been raised since 1986 and Virginia currently ranks ~40th in the nation (where #1 is the state with the highest tax). Currently the tax is calculated as a flat rate per gallon but it might make more sense to change it to a percentage of the total purchase price instead. No matter how the tax is calculated it needs to be raised to cover our rising costs for transportation (ex: roads, mass transit, etc.). In the end the proposed increases would only cost most drivers $75-$150 more per year. That's not a lot when you consider that people spend $1.50/bottle on a 20 ounce of soda per day (or $4.25 on a cup of coffee). Increasing the tax would also assist in pushing more people towards mass transit or carpooling.
If I was a politician I would also consider passing a bill that gives people a state tax break if they live within 5 miles of their place of employment. This would either incent people to shorten their commutes by moving closer to work or it would encourage them to look for a new job closer to where they currently live. By reducing the distance they have to travel to work this incentive would reduce pollution, reduce commute times, and discourage urban spawl away from employment centers.
T Ailshire
12:44 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Excuse me? Live in a high-rise simply because I'm closer to my office? Surely you jest. Unless you're proposing moving good jobs away from military installations and medical centers, or from Crystal City, or Rosslyn? I'm afraid that proposal comes from some fantasy world -- or is just designed to give high-rise apartment dwellers a tax break. Sounds like using taxes to fund *someone's* ideal of what life should be.
Mike Smith
3:03 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
T Ailshire - I don't think my point was clear based upon your response. I said you should get a tax break if you live within 5 miles of your place of employment. That doesn't mean you have to live in a high-rise. Your place of employment could be a lot of places that are close to homes too. Look at Alexandria, Reston, Herndon, Vienna, Falls Church, etc. All of those have offices within 5 miles of peoples homes. Maybe within 10 miles is the magic number. Either way the point is to encourage people to shorten their commutes to improve their quality of life and the environment. Years ago I moved in order to shorten my commute from an hour and 15 mins each way to less than 15 mins. No, I don't live in a high-rise. ;) If you encourage people to live closer to their places of work, similar to what happens in Europe and Asia-Pac you getter better fill rates on mass transit, mass transit is more sustainable financially, and there's less need for roads. People also find that they magically have more free time on their hands to spend at home, with friends, with family, etc. After all sitting in traffic isn't a lot of fun and saving two hours a day five days a week, week after week, is a lot of time. Sure it may be a perfect world idea but let's be honest the way things are done today isn't working very well, so why not try something new.
Mike Smith
1:10 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
It's a proven fact that a plastic bag tax would reduce litter and pollution. This is another proposal I agree with and a $0.20 charge per bag sounds reasonable to me. If I really want a plastic bag that I can use as a liner for my trash can then it's reasonable I would have to pay for it. After all we all pay for trash bags for yard waste, kitchen trash cans. etc. so why would this fee seem unreasonable? Stores ultimately add the cost of the bags to the charges they pass on to consumers so in the end I would rather see plastic bag users pay for those costs as opposed to everyone that shops at a given store. After all do people really need a plastic bag for a pack of gum or a single birthday card (I've seen this numerous times at places like CVS, so it does happen)? In the end adding the fee would make people think twice about taking a bag when they don't really need one. For those with a reusable bag it would really speed up the return on investment for the reusable bag.
Mike Smith
1:24 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
To further encourage recycling I would like to see the County and State take things a little further than they do today. Enacting a statewide $0.05 - $0.10 refund fee per plastic bottle would encourage people to recycle plastic bottles. This is done in other states and it's something Virginia should consider too. The state could then use a portion of that fee for the Bay clean-up, etc. I also think Fairfax County should force restaurants to recycle glass and aluminum. Today the County only forces them to recycle cardboard. Making this change would increase the County's recycling rates considerably and lower the amount of reusable materials that are sent to landfills and the incinerator. The next time you're at a bar take note of how many bottles they throw away in a night and you'll start to realize how much aluminum and glass they throw away in a day, week, month, and year.
As for the estate tax or "death tax" I would agree with Mr. Barsa that that one just doesn't make sense. I don't mind paying taxes once but paying them twice and in this case paying it the second time after I'm dead just doesn't make sense. On this point I disagree with Delegate Surovell.
As opposed to reinstating the estate tax I would rather see the state raise taxes on things like cigars, cigarettes, and alcohol. After all we pay some of the lowest taxes in the nation on these things so it makes sense to raise the taxes so we're more on par with the national average.
T Ailshire
12:46 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
That gives me a GREAT idea that ought to go over well with this crowd.
$0.25 per can or bottle of soda-pop. More for bars - after all, those are bad places. After all, the stuff is carbonated with carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas - that escapes into the atmosphere when the can is opened. If we tax all that greenhouse gas, just think how politicians could spend it. More tax breaks to make people live the way the politicians think they should!
Martin Tillett
1:55 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
And you of course are not trying to make people live the way YOU think they should?
HAH!
Mike Smith
2:47 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
T Ailshire - The point is to get people to recycle. The money is refunded when you return the bottle. If you don't return it you lose the money. Eight states do this today (mostly in the Northeast) and it works well. For restaurants I'm just saying that the county should make them recycle glass, plastic, and aluminum bottles/cans similar to what the County requires for residents. Most offices have already started doing this and you would be amazed at the difference it makes in the amount of waste they throw out. This suggestion is not a tax on restaurants it's just a change/requirement that makes sense.
T Ailshire
1:58 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Um, someone was absent the day they covered sarcasm in school.
Mike Smith
3:05 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I caught the sarcasm and had a good laugh. ;) After all the comments are one of the most entertaining parts of the Patch.
m.tracy
6:36 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
20 cents a bag is a sure loser-- maybe a nickel a bag, as in dc. (max). what would happen to your wash post if they tacked on 40 cents a day for the bags-- or 80 cents on a rainy sat? what about the gazette?
trader joe's encourages reusable bags by having drawings for $25 coupons--win/win for everyone. .
and why doesn't t he county recycle plastic bags-- as the district does and most other places. making this a separate function at the grocery store makes little sense-- how many bags fly out of the pile people tote across the parking lots near grocery stores.?
John Barsa
1:40 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
I want to take a minute to declare victory. I had hoped my blog post would encourage some civil and appropriate discussion and I am glad to see that for the most part is has.
For those who are interested in finding out about plastic bag recycling, some useful information and starting point for research can be found at www.plasticbagrecycling.org.
“Never mistake motion for action” is one of my favorite quotes from Ernest Hemingway. I do not question Del. Surovell’s advocacy. I question the policies he supports. I can believe one can be misguided without questioning their motives or character. (For the record, I got to know Scott a little during the campaign. We shared a few laughs once and a while and I have nothing against him personally.)
I will continue to blog for the Patch with a conservative viewpoint on timely topics. If anyone would like to suggest topics please feel free to contact me with your ideas.
That’s all!
Carry on….
Will Radle
5:07 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
John, thank you for focusing your advocacy on public policy. We live at challenging times in a competitive market. If you look at the gas taxes of DC, MD, WV, KY, TN, and NC, you will see even with the proposed increase, VA remains highly competitive. That remains true even if we implement the proposed increase.
We need to more effectively manage our tax revenues and we need to create effective, sustainable solutions for the worst traffic congestion in our nation. I believe reasonable people agree with both of these assertions.
I understand Americans use over 10 billion plastic bags annually. Plastic grocery bags represent an enormous waste of petroleum (a finite commodity) for what is mostly a one-time use. We want to encourage the use of alternatives to reduce pollution in our waterways, to reduce risk to wildlife, and to help reduce our oil consumption. Would you agree with these public policy goals? If you support these goals, what alternate positive actions would you propose?
How did Delegate Surovell arrive at proposing a government fee of $0.20 per bag and not, for example, $0.05 or $0.25 per bag? I do not know and remain curious.
I look forward to reading your future blog posts for the Patch. Together we can help create a culture of listening focusing on our shared best interests. Thank you.
A. Will Radle, Jr.
Democratic VA8 Candidate
Martin Tillett
8:53 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
How about some conservative viewpoints of storm water impact on the ecology of our local watersheds and the impact on larger systems like the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay ecosystems? Please give us the conservative ideas on regulation and or control of these detrimental impacts and what should be the responsibility of government, industry, business and citizens.
Martin Tillett
8:42 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Why not permit an alternative to plastic by bringing back hemp production? The fibers in hemp make an especially durable paper and it is an annual crop that yields more fiber for paper production per acre than pulpwood which takes 60 years of growth before harvesting. The agricultural hemp grown before the Federal Government regulated it out of production with their "reefer madness" campaign in the early half of the 20th Century. Agricultural hemp is so low in the psychoactive properties that users of the high test, hybridized hemp plants for medicinal or recreational use have at their disposal today wouldn't bother with trying to use it. The good stuff as they would call it, is too easily available and has a potency that today surpasses the stuff that used to be smuggled into the country from Mexico. Lifting federal regulations would allow for serious R&D into the plant to determine if other benefits and uses are there. that could start new industries and create more jobs.
Will Radle
10:03 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Martin, American ingenuity possesses no ideological or partisan boundary. The insularity of the establishment seeks to limit people from sharing their ideas and concerns.
I see a need for good stewardship of our environment and have served on the Lee District Land Use and Transportation Committee since 2004. Storm water management is a central focus of our work.
Another friend of mine is a professional historian at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate. She recently reminded me George grew hemp. Hemp is legal; the federal government just needs to sell the stamps. As you know, there are several industrial uses for the plant.
I hope this helps.