Democrats and Republicans spar as affordability takes center stage at State Capitol

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Affordability is once again taking center stage at the Virginia State Capitol.

Democrats said their efforts to raise Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, something that passed the House of Delegates on Tuesday, will make it easier for working Virginians to make ends meet. 

“Sometimes they work double shifts, sometimes they work two jobs, at least now they’re gonna be able to get $15 an hour, and that means a lot to people who have a difficult time putting food on the table,” said Delegate Jeion Ward (D-Hampton), who wrote the bill to increase Virginia’s minimum wage. 

Plus, Democrats said investments in clean energy, weatherization and more will make housing and energy more affordable.

However, Republicans disagree, and said Democratic priorities will actually make life more expensive. They point to bills proposed by Democrats that would add the state sales tax to services like home and car repairs and dry cleaning, as well as products like streaming services. 

“A tax on Amazon Prime. A tax on dry cleaning. A tax on haircuts. Tax on your gym membership. Tax on Grubhub, a tax on DoorDash, a tax on Uber,” said Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover) at a recent press conference. “A tax on dog walking, and a tax on lawncare.” 

Democrats responded to Republicans’ claims, and said it’s still early in the legislative process. 

“There’s a lot of noise out there about tax policy right now, and I would argue a lot of disingenuous political actors who are trying to make noise about tax policy right now, but I think that when session’s over and the governor signs a budget, I think you’re gonna see a set of tax policies and a budget that reflects our values of helping the working and middle class," said Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico).

It's also important to note that Democrats have introduced several bills to reduce taxes, including ones to eliminate the local grocery tax, increase the standard deduction, and reduce the overall state sales tax rate and more.

The bill to increase the standard deduction also includes provisions to create new, higher tax brackets for high-income earners.

The bill that would reduce the overall state sales tax rate would also add the state sales tax to many of the products and services, like streaming services, dry-cleaning, etc., as previously mentioned.