Virginia’s sales tax would increase by 1 percent under a bill introduced in the General Assembly Friday by Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford County.
Voters would decide whether to approve the tax in a statewide referendum.
Revenues produced by the increase would go to highways, education and mental health services, according to the bill posted on the General Assembly web site late Friday.
The bill, HB 1239, was introduced on the last day for filing bills in this session.
Putney, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a key figure in the state’s budget-writing process, could not be reached for comment Friday night.
Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has called for more of Virginia’s existing sales-tax revenues to fund highways, opposes any tax increase, said his spokesman, Tucker Martin, reiterating a position McDonnell has stated repeatedly.
The bill did not include any official analysis of its impact on state revenues or taxpayers.
But in simplest terms, an item costing $1 would cost $1.06 after the tax increase. That same item currently costs $1.05, including tax.
If enacted in 2013 as proposed, the one-cent increase could generate in the neighborhood of $900 million annually, based on sales-tax revenues reported in recent years by the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Its cost to families could range from $15 to $20 per month, based on estimates accompanying a similar proposal in North Carolina this year.
Details of the proposal, listed on the General Assembly web site, said the bill would increase the state retail sales and use tax from 4 percent to 5 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2013.
The increase would result in a combined state and local retail sales tax of 6 percent, because local governments receive 1 percent of the sales tax.
Final approval would be subject to a statewide referendum.
Half of the revenues generated would be deposited into a new special fund called the supplemental highway construction and maintenance fund, and the other half would be used for mental health services, public education, and colleges.
The bill also would direct $200 million to Virginia’s secondary roads.
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