Richmond, Virginia—Since Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin won his primary, he’s flipped his position on state income taxes. At first, he pledged to disastrously eliminate all of Virginia’s state income tax, but now he says he just wants to cut some of it. 

Whatever he chooses to do if elected, Youngkin is saying he will underfund the programs our communities need to thrive. Essential lifelines like schools, safety net programs, and health care access will be massively under-resourced under Youngkin’s plan. Instead of focusing on income tax elimination, which will disproportionately benefit mostly white, wealthy people, the focus should be redirected towards correcting our upside-down tax code and ensuring low and middle income families aren’t paying more than their fair share of taxes.  

“Hardworking families in our community should have the resources they need to thrive. By eliminating the income tax, we would be decimating vital programs that all of us rely on like our schools, roads, and healthcare systems. Glenn Youngkin’s plan, whatever it is, is reckless and naive,” Vanessa Clinton, Press Secretary at Progress Virginia, said. “Youngkin wants to eliminate the income tax not because it will be good for working families, but because it will benefit him and his rich friends. It’s time for a tax policy that benefits all of us, not just rich white men like Glenn.”

Background: 

• Before winning the primary, Youngkin said in an interview that he wanted to eliminate the state income tax. 
• Youngkin hired Stephen Moore, the architect of the disastrous tax cuts in Kansas to do the same thing here in Virginia. 
• Since winning the primary, Youngkin has backtracked from his original statements saying he doesn’t want to eliminate the income tax, just lower it. 
• Virginia Public Media fact checked his statements and ruled this a “half-flip”.