The politics behind candidates promising to eliminate the car tax in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia voters may be feeling deja vu. 

That’s because nearly three decades after it was first proposed by Jim Gilmore, former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D) and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) have both promised to eliminate the car tax in Virginia -- if they’re elected governor. 

“It’s a good way to get attention from voters for both turnout, but also to position oneself as a candidate, as someone who is listening seriously to the people around them and are trying to respond to their concerns about having to once again, every year, pay a car tax,” Virginia Tech Political Science Professor Karen Hult told 8News. 

Hult added that despite the fact that no politician has been successful in ending the car tax, the idea continues to be good politics in Virginia because, unlike other complicated tax policy debates, eliminating the car tax is a simple slogan that Virginians can easily understand and relate to.

“I think candidates in general like to have that distilled messaging, also it’s easy to remember, and more than that, most people, most of the time, don’t pay that much attention to electoral politics or policy, so for all of those reasons, it’s a good way to get the message out there and to keep reinforcing it in a simple, easy to remember fashion,” Hult explained. 

Hult also said that with the economy being a top concern for many Virginians, any policies that allow people to keep more money in their pockets will likely play well with voters. 

“The economy is going to be on the top of many people's minds, and that also could be in part why both the former congresswoman, Spanberger, and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears is trying to say, 'I’m paying attention to that,'” Hult told 8News. 

Regardless of who is elected, eliminating the car tax could be difficult in Virginia. That’s because the Democratic-controlled General Assembly rejected a proposal from Governor Glenn Youngkin during this year’s General Assembly Session.