Amid rising inflation costs in Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday unveiled his plan to get rid of the state鈥檚 grocery tax to shoppers.
The governor told customers at a Safeway in Alexandria that eliminating the 2.5% tax will lower the cost of living for many Virginians.
鈥淎cross the nation right now, an average family of four鈥檚 grocery bill has gone up a tremendous amount,鈥� Youngkin said. 鈥淲e have watched tax upon tax upon tax be added to everything we do.鈥�
But some shoppers weren鈥檛 buying Youngkin’s plan.
鈥淚t sounds pie in the sky — great to get rid of taxes,鈥� said Laurie Williams, an Alexandria resident shopping at the Safeway for her family of four. 鈥淏ut what does that really mean for everything else?鈥�
Williams said she has seen her grocery bill slightly increase over the last few months, but she mostly blames the pandemic and supply chain issues.
“It may be a little over $115 each week and now, it鈥檚 creeping up,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淪o, yeah, I feel it, but I want to understand the other implications before I say ‘Yeah definitely.'”
Youngkin said a multi-million dollar budget surplus could cover the loss of the tax. One percent of the tax goes to local governments; 1% is earmarked for the state鈥檚 education budget, and a half percent is slated for transportation projects.
Youngkin campaigned on a promise to wipe out the grocery tax. He said a cheaper cost of living will keep families within the state鈥檚 borders.
鈥淥ne of the primary areas that we are losing, is that Virginia鈥檚 cost of living has escalated at an extraordinary rate and people are moving to lower-cost places to live,鈥� Youngkin told the crowd.
Youngkin鈥檚 plan also includes suspending the gas tax increase for one year, doubling the standard deduction and allowing veterans to exclude $40,000 of their retirement from state taxes. He said a Virginia family could save $1,500 a year with his plan.
Alexandria resident Philippe Suissa said shopping without a grocery tax could help him save a few hundred dollars a year, but not enough to make a big difference.
He wants to see Youngkin focus on other areas, such as tax credits.
鈥淭here are other things they can do to help people out,鈥� Suissa said.
