Virginia’s “Affordability” Lie: How Democrats Turned Campaign Promises into a Tax Tsunami

“Affordability” — Just a Campaign Slogan

Virginia Democrats barely waited for the ink to dry on their election victories before revealing what their version of “affordability” really means. Within days of taking unified control of state government, they began advancing tax proposals that would push Virginia toward the highest tax burden in the nation. The campaign rhetoric sounded friendly to working families, but the governing agenda tells a very different story.

A Direct Path to the Highest Tax Rate in America

Bills now pending in the General Assembly would dramatically raise Virginia’s income tax rates. One proposal raises the top rate from 5.75% to 8% on incomes over $600,000 and to 10% on incomes over $1 million. Another adds a 3.8% “net investment income tax” on most income above $500,000. Combined, these measures would push Virginia’s top tax rate to 13.8%, surpassing California’s 13.3% and dwarfing nearby states like North Carolina (3.99%), West Virginia (4.82%), and Tennessee (0%).

The Architects of the Tax Surge

At the center of this effort is HB 979, introduced by Delegate Vivian Watts, the powerful chair of the House Finance Committee. The bill establishes two new tax brackets beginning in 2027, locking in steep tax increases on high earners. But it doesn’t stop there. Democrats are also pushing new taxes on investment income, retail deliveries, firearms and ammunition, and even previously exempt services like dry cleaning and landscaping—a broad, sweeping expansion of government reach into everyday life.

Virginia Becomes a Regional Outlier

While surrounding states are cutting taxes, phasing out income taxes, and actively competing for residents and businesses, Virginia Democrats are choosing to move in the opposite direction—making the Commonwealth more expensive, less competitive, and less attractive. Elections have consequences, and in Virginia those consequences are already arriving in the form of higher taxes. The next time voters hear promises of “affordability,” they should remember how quickly those promises vanished once power was secured.