<p class=ldtitle>Requesting the Department of Taxation, in cooperation with the Secretary of Finance, to study the impact of repealing the individual income tax. Report.</p>
House Joint Resolution 15 requests that the Department of Taxation, working with the Secretary of Finance and with technical assistance from the Department of Planning and Budget, study the fiscal, legal, and administrative effects of repealing Virginia’s individual income tax. The study must examine how the Commonwealth could replace the revenue currently generated by the income tax and identify alternative revenue streams that could support public services if individual income tax liability were eliminated.
The resolution specifically directs the Department to review how other states without an individual income tax fund government operations and to evaluate policy options such as changing tax rates, broadening the sales and use tax base, increasing reliance on excise taxes, expanding nongeneral fund revenue sources, and creating new revenue sources. The Department must complete its work by November 30, 2026, and submit an executive summary and report by the start of the 2027 Regular Session.
HJ15 does not itself change tax law or reduce taxes; instead, it creates a legislative study of the consequences of eliminating the individual income tax. If adopted, it would require state agencies to assist in evaluating revenue replacement options and would produce a report for the Governor and General Assembly that could inform future tax reform legislation. The resolution focuses on the Commonwealth’s largest general fund revenue source and could shape later debates over sales taxes, excise taxes, and other funding mechanisms.
The bill appears to be supported by a tax-reform, anti-income-tax perspective, emphasizing Virginia’s budget surplus, the growth in revenues, and the existence of states without an income tax. The fact that it was continued in the Rules Committee by voice vote suggests it advanced procedurally without recorded opposition at that stage, but the lack of committee discussion or recorded votes limits insight into broader sentiment. Overall, the tone of the resolution is exploratory but clearly favorable toward considering repeal of the individual income tax.
The main point of contention is the feasibility and desirability of eliminating the individual income tax, since it is currently the Commonwealth’s largest general fund revenue source and a major contributor to the budget surplus. Supporters of the study argue that alternative revenue streams and tax-structure changes could replace the lost revenue, while opponents would likely question whether higher sales, excise, or other taxes could adequately fund public services without shifting burdens onto other taxpayers. The resolution also implicitly raises concerns about how to maintain fiscal stability, especially given the absence of any enacted change to income tax rates or brackets since 1990.