From the daily archives:

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Cigarette tax bill dies

February 3, 2010

RICHMOND—Isle of Wight County won’t be instituting a cigarette tax, at least not this year. Legislation that would’ve allowed the county and others across the state to levy a tax on cigarettes was killed in the General Assembly.

Delegate William Barlow, D-Smithfield, argued that cigarette taxes, which he classified as “user fees,” could bring in significant revenue — especially considering state budget cuts.

“The localities are going to suffer tremendous cutbacks in state money coming back to the localities, and this would be a way of them getting some revenue to provide services for our citizens,” he said.

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Best wishes to McDonnell

February 3, 2010

Regardless of political persuasion, every Virginian should be pulling hard for Bob McDonnell in his quest to become the “jobs governor.”

New jobs will cure most of what ails the commonwealth. Gainfully employed citizens will require less public assistance and commit fewer crimes. They will spend more money with Virginia businesses and pay more taxes, alleviating budget crunches for state and local governments and allowing much-needed investment in transportation and education improvements.

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