Latest news with #AxetheTax
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Virginia governor candidates vow to end 'car tax'
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia's car tax is widely considered the most-hated tax in the state, and it could be coming to an end soon. Both candidates for the Virginia governor's race have expressed their desire to eliminate the state's car tax. Republican Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears recently announced her 'Axe the Tax' initiative, which would end the state's car tax as well as income taxes on tipped wages. A campaign spokesperson for Democrat Abigail Spanberger said, 'Abigail will work with both Democrats and Republicans to put Virginia on a real path towards eliminating the car tax once and for all.' However, the state estimates an elimination of the state's car tax would cost localities around 2.5 to 3 billion a year, a price some state lawmakers are concerned about. 'You got to wrestle through a way to deal with that. That doesn't leave the localities holding the bag because it's localities who pick up most of the cost. For example, your local police department or your local school divisions,' said Sen. Mark Warner. In a statement sent to 10 On Your side, Sen Tim Kaine said, 'This is a complicated issue that requires delicate balancing, and it's ultimately up to the General Assembly to make changes to the state tax code.' Despite the hefty price, some residents in the Hampton Roads area are still in favor of eliminating the tax. 'I most certainly am in favor of whichever candidate wins to stop, to eliminate, to get rid of the personal property taxes on our cars. There's other avenues, where a city can bring in that extra money so, I would say let's end it and go from there,' said Portsmouth resident Michael Crowell. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Axios
Both Virginia governor candidates vow to end state's "car tax"
There's one thing both candidates for Virginia governor agree on: the state's "car tax" should go, the Times-Dispatch reports. Why it matters: Most locals who own a car just shelled out big bucks for their annual personal property tax bill. Driving the news: Last week, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP candidate for governor, announced her "Axe the Tax" initiative at a campaign event in Fairfax. Her proposal calls for ending the personal property tax on vehicles in Virginia and eliminating the state's income taxes on tipped wages. "We are going to get rid of this daggone car tax once and for all," Earle-Sears said at the event. A spokesperson for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, told the Times-Dispatch that she too supports ending the "car tax" and plans to work with both Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly to find a way to do it. The big picture: Roughly half of states levy a personal property tax on vehicles. Better known in Virginia as the "car tax," it's deeply unpopular with residents, likely because, well, it's a tax ... and one that only about half the nation pays. That's largely why statewide politicians have been promising to repeal or offset it on and off for nearly 30 years, including earlier this year when Gov. Youngkin proposed $1.1 billion in car tax relief. Yes, but: The tax is deeply ingrained in Virginia (it's been around since 1782) and provides significant revenue for cities, towns and counties, which levy and collect the money. So if and when politicians want to kill it at the state level, they have to find a way to reimburse the localities for the lost revenue. In 2024, the last time the state looked at repealing the car tax, the estimated price tag for Virginia was $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year, the Times-Dispatch notes.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion: Pierre Poilievre and the million-dollar byelection
Opinion Certainly, democracy has a cost. And the federal election Canada just went through is one heck of a fiscal hit. Here's the cost of a free and fair election, in rather dry and procedural language, courtesy of Elections Canada. Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre 'The revised estimated cost of delivering the 45th federal general election as of March 2025 is $570.0 million or approximately $19.79 for each registered elector. The cost of delivering a general election is typically spread out over three years and includes expenditures incurred well after election day, such as reimbursements for parties and candidates. Most of the cost of delivering the 45th general election will be incurred in fiscal year 2025–2026, given that election day will be on April 28, 2025.' Money well spent. But what if a member of Parliament, just elected days ago, decides to resign so his leader can run to gain a seat in the House of Commons? That's the situation with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat in the Ontario riding of Carleton and will be running in a by- election in Battle River-Crowfoot in Alberta, a seat to be vacated by MP Damien Kurek. The voters spoke on April 28, and having them speak again won't be cheap. Federal byelections are an expensive prospect — a pair of byelections, in Toronto Centre and York Centre, on Oct. 26, 2020, cost taxpayers just over $3.2 million. A Dec. 12, 2022, federal byelection in the federal electoral district of Mississauga-Lakeshore cost $2 million all by itself, though Elections Canada recognized that some costs were higher than average, because costs in that part of Ontario were high. Needing to have his very own byelection wouldn't be the only place where Poilievre pushes the envelope on taxpayers paying. House of Commons rules indicate Poilievre is eligible for roughly $150,000 in severance pay after being defeated. It's not clear if he has to return any of that money if he's returned to the House after the byelection. And long before the last federal election campaign, Poilievre was on a virtually constant cross-Canada Axe the Tax road show. He did plenty of talking about the need to cut government costs while at the same time, in one year alone (January to December 2024), billing his House Officers Expense fund for $449,032.05 in travel costs and $67,770.21 in hospitality expenses. And, right now, while he isn't an MP, he's continuing to live rent-free in Stornoway, the residence for the leader of the official Opposition in the House of Commons. He does not have a seat in the House, and probably won't have a chance to win a byelection and gain that role for months. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up To be honest, it's probably cheaper to keep him there in the manner to which he's become accustomed than to move him out, and potentially, back in again. And putting the Tories' interim leader into the residence for a few months has costs, too — as happened with Candice Bergen before Poilievre's selection as Conservative leader. The residence needed $19,404 in work before her arrival. But at the same time, letting him stay does appear to take the residents of Battle River-Crowfoot, and their votes, for granted. Poilievre has argued that it's wrong for the government to subsidize things like the CBC. He's vowed to cut government spending. Yet he expects us to subsidize him to the tune of millions of tax dollars, especially on a byelection that will see somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million, just to garner him a seat. It is a political expenditure, being done to suit the political ends of the Conservatives. One thing's for certain: Poilievre is not in a position to lecture anyone on government thrift.
Japan Times
10-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Canada's Mark Carney treads a fine line on climate in a tight election
Last month, in his first speech as Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney vowed to make the nation "a superpower in both conventional and clean energy.' The "conventional' reference could be seen as matter of course in a nation whose energy sector is still dominated by oil and gas. But it also shows the fine line that Carney, the Liberal Party leader, needs to tread as he squares off against Conservative Pierre Poilievre ahead of Canada's general election on April 28, while simultaneously fighting a brutal trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. "I think the political incentives for him align for that kind of compromise,' said Jessica Green, a political scientist at the University of Toronto. Voters are focused on issues that seem more immediate and frightening than climate change, she said, from a fraying social safety net, to economic fears, to the rise of authoritarianism. Meanwhile, opposition leader Poilievre has blamed climate policies — especially the consumer carbon tax implemented by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — for rising household costs. In an election campaign that has frequently seen the parties in a dead heat, "it makes sense not to talk about climate,' Green said. A spokesperson for the Carney campaign said he had not chosen "to downplay or dial down climate.' "Climate change is very important to many Canadians, but we would also be remiss if we didn't talk about other things Canadians care about, such as affordability, our relationship with the United States, security and so on,' she said. The populist vs. the 'globalist' The contrast between the two candidates is marked, a fact each has sought to underscore. Carney is a prominent climate champion on the international stage. His long list of green credentials includes five years as the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and cochairing the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. His platform proposes measures such as bolstering carbon markets, developing a carbon border adjustment mechanism and speeding up approvals of clean energy projects. Still, one of Carney's first acts after taking over from Trudeau was to scrap the unpopular consumer carbon tax, which taxed fuels, including gasoline at the pump, based on emissions and then redistributed the income to provinces and territories. For most Canadians, that money was then mailed out in the form of rebate checks. In canceling it, Carney said the poorly understood policy had become "too divisive.' It was a tacit acknowledgement of the efficacy of Poilievre's relentless "Axe the Tax' campaign, part of a broader platform focused on jobs and cost-of-living issues. In his first speech as Canada's prime minister last month, Carney vowed to make the nation "a superpower in both conventional and clean energy.' | Bloomberg A populist from oil-rich Alberta who has spent his entire adult life in politics, Poilievre has attacked Carney as being among the "globalist elites.' He's promised to reinvigorate Canada's oil and gas sector, and his plans to reduce greenhouse gases are vague. Poilievre has said he favors incentives to reward companies for cleaner technology and manufacturing, but hasn't committed to upholding any of Canada's emissions targets. He also believes selling more of Canada's resources abroad would be good for energy independence and ultimately good for the climate, a spokesperson for his campaign said, citing his remarks at a recent press conference. "We should be selling our resources to the world,' Poilievre said. "Canadian oil and clean natural gas should be displacing coal and reducing emissions worldwide by allowing India and other Asian countries to use our gas instead of dirty coal.' Canada's lagging progress Canada is one of the world's highest emitters per capita and currently lags far behind its own carbon-cutting goals. It has targeted cuts of at least 40% to 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, but the latest national emissions inventory report shows a drop of just 8.5% through 2023. Meanwhile, fossil-fuel emissions rose, "consistent with a 242% rise in crude bitumen and synthetic crude oil production from Canada's oil sands operations,' the report notes. Those numbers are somewhat skewed by heavy oil and gas investment in the early 2000s, which has largely evaporated over the last decade. Still, they illustrate the challenge Canada faces if it is to bend its emissions curve enough to get to net zero by 2050 — a legally required milestone — much less achieve its interim targets. Carney's climate proposals fall broadly into three areas: fostering a comparative advantage for clean industry; incentivizing investment in green buildings, electrified transport and consumer efforts to decarbonize; and sustainable finance measures. Carney is a prominent climate champion on the international stage with a long list of green credentials, but one of his first acts as prime minister was to scrap an unpopular consumer carbon tax that taxed fuels, including gasoline at the pump, based on emissions and then redistributed the income to provinces and territories. | Bloomberg "Nothing that he has said is really inconsistent with achieving net zero, or growing a clean economy. It's not that he's going to do the opposite of that,' said Chris Severson-Baker, executive director of the Pembina Institute, which advocates for Canadian policies to transition to clean energy. "But it is a bit light on details.' Carney is not the first North American politician who's had to reconcile a deep green curriculum vitae with broader appeals to voters. Claudia Sheinbaum, who holds a doctorate in energy engineering and has contributed to reports for the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, became Mexico's president last year. On the campaign trail, she proposed expanding renewable energy but also gas power plants, and pledged to strengthen the state-owned oil company, Pemex. Meanwhile, U.S. tariffs and Trump's threats to annex Canada have transformed the dynamics of the race. A separate Carney plan ties protections for Canada's water, nature and biodiversity to national security concerns. It was released April 7, the same day that Poilievre talked about selling more oil and gas to India and said he would fast-track 10 oil and gas projects, including a Suncor Energy oil-sands mine extension. Poilievre has promised a number of additional measures that threaten emissions progress, including revoking Canada's oil and gas emissions cap and scrapping the industrial carbon tax. The latter is a step that large energy companies called for, saying the tax was not globally cost competitive and that carbon regulations were better handled at the provincial level. But the industrial carbon tax reduces emissions at least three times as much as the consumer tax did, according to the Canadian Climate Institute, and would do more than any other policy in place to cut emissions between now and 2030. The implied carrot offered by Poilievre is a return to the days when Canadian oil workers benefited with every spike in prices. That's unlikely to materialize, Severson-Baker says, given that the focus of oil companies is increasingly on automation and wringing the last profits out of existing projects, rather than new investment. Carney is not the first North American politician who's had to reconcile a deep green curriculum vitae with broader appeals to voters. | Bloomberg Canadian oil prices are largely set by the price of West Texas Intermediate crude. That benchmark has dropped more than 30% over the past year, including roughly 17% since Trump outlined his tariff plans about a week ago, further damaging the case for any major new oil-sands investments. Investors also increasingly favor producers with low debt levels that offer buybacks and dividends over those that focus on growing output. Canceling the industrial carbon tax risks derailing multi-year corporate plans designed to help companies compete in a decarbonizing world, Severson-Baker says. Poilievre's pledge alone "creates uncertainty for investment in Canada, when we're already overwhelmed with uncertainty from conflict with the United States over tariffs and sovereignty.' Seeking votes in the center Still, as the pro-fossil-fuels messaging wins support in some quarters, the question is how much Carney may need to play down his green resume to win — and how much climate policy will be integrated into his plans if he does. At the far right of the political spectrum, attempts to discredit his climate credentials are well underway. Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist and podcaster who has attacked climate science, recently wrote that Carney is a "woke, broke, net zero fanatic.' (He also conducted a much-friendlier 100-minute interview with Poilievre.) Closer to the middle, though, there are likely votes at play. Carney is frequently described as a centrist, and his roots in business, expertise in economics and global contacts can be seen as assets at a time Canada is looking to diversify relationships beyond the U.S. In addition to helming two central banks, he served as chair of Brookfield Asset Management and helped found GFANZ, a global initiative to mobilize capital to decarbonize the economy. He cochaired the latter with Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg and also served as chair of Bloomberg Inc. Carney "is a robustly green technocrat,' said Green. He believes in the power of markets and multilateral processes and sees climate change "fundamentally as a sort of technocratic problem.' According to Green, that may mean missing out on bigger opportunities in a rare moment of national unity, spurred by anger over Trump's policies. "A courageous politician could swing for the fences' by overtly linking solutions to Canada's safety-net challenges to climate protection, she said. To that end, a minority electoral victory for Carney, in which he relies on some support from the left-leaning New Democrats, could result in the most ambitious climate policy, according to global think tank Stratfor. But regardless of who wins on April 28, there's no plan to phase out fossil fuel production in Canada. "We need a plan for winding down supply,' said Green. "And of course this is the third rail of climate politics in Canada. Nobody's really talking about this in any meaningful way.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mayor Adams makes last-minute push for NYC tax relief amid budget negotiations
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – The state budget is due tomorrow, and its passage could eliminate personal income tax for some New York City taxpayers. With the possibility of a late state budget approval, Mayor Eric Adams made a last-minute push for his 'Axe the Tax' proposal on Monday. More Local News The proposal, originally introduced in December, would completely wipe New York City's personal income tax for people with at least one dependent making below 150% of the federal poverty line. For a family of three, that is $39,975 per year and $48,225 for a family of four. It would also lower the New York City Personal Income Tax for people just above the threshold. It was proposed as part of the 2026 state budget, which is due on Tuesday, April 1, but could be late given the New York State Legislature is not in session on Monday. If passed, taxpayers could see the change in taxes as early as 2025. 'This is within the power of our state lawmakers. We're asking them to act and get this done,' Adams said. City officials estimate 'Axe the Tax' would save a single parent with one child just over $250 in taxes. For a family with two adults and two children, the savings could be over $500, according to city officials. 'Thanks to our colleagues in Albany, we're close to getting this relief,' Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión said. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
