Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - A new bill introduced by Sen. David Suetterlein (R-Roanoke) would eliminate the 1% local sales tax on food purchases for home consumption and certain essential personal hygiene products.
SB 110 would provide an exemption from local sales and use tax beginning July 1. Under current law, these grocery items are exempt from state sales tax and use tax but are subject to the standard local rate of one percent.
While the bill would save families some money, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) said this is not worth it, given that the tax goes towards funding public education in the Commonwealth.
“We put less money into K-12 than Kentucky and West Virginia do,” Surovell said in an interview with our partners at 8News. “So I think, if anything, this proposal is going to reduce the amount of money going to K-12.”
Surovell believes putting money into the school system should be the priority.
“I think, in the short to medium term — I think our focus needs to be on ‘How do we get more money into our K-12 system?’ instead of trying to tinker around with the existing funding sources,” Surovell said. “Once we have got the K-12 system adequately funded, I think we are in a better position to talk about those sorts of issues.”
