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Tim Kaine on Technology

Democratic Senate Challenger; previously Governor

 


Invest in communities--infrastructure makes us competitive

The other side fights to protect subsidies for Big Oil. We want to invest in our small businesses. They want bigger tax cuts for those who need it least. We want to invest in our communities--the roads, bridges and infrastructure that will make us more competitive. They want to slash education and job training. We want to invest in our future.
Source: 2012 Democratic National Convention speech , Sep 4, 2012

Force online retailers to collect sales taxes

Kaine indicated he was open to forcing online retailers to collect sales taxes, although he said the rates should not be onerous and some small businesses should be exempted. Allen said he opposed asking businesses without a physical presence in a state to collect sales taxes.
Source: Washington Post coverage of 2012 Virginia Senate Debates , Jun 28, 2012

Long-term commitment to six year infrastructure plan

Virginia's transportation infrastructure faced significant challenges even before the downturn in the economy, and as family incomes have suffered, so have the gas tax and automobile sales tax revenues that support transportation.

Our transportation agencies are reducing their administrative overhead to preserve scarce dollars for maintenance and construction. To balance its budget, VDOT will reduce central office staff and streamline operations around the state. Over the next two years, VDOT will reduce agency employment by about 1,000 employees, through retirements, attrition, and other restructuring.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board has rewritten the six year construction plan to reflect the reduced financial projections, and the results are startling. Without a long-term commitment from the legislature to support transportation funding, and with a slump in existing revenue sources, dozens of road and bridge projects have been taken out of the plan.

Source: Virginia 2009 State of the State address , Jan 14, 2009

Re-zoning to account for transportation infrastructure

Let's take the next steps towards smart growth management. Communities need clear authority to reject rezoning proposals when new developments would overwhelm the existing transportation infrastructure. We must protect the investments that we have already made in critical transportation corridors by managing access to those roads in a way that promotes safe, swift travel. And we need incentives for new subdivision streets to be designed to reduce congestion and long-term maintenance costs. The state should not automatically pick up the maintenance costs for new roads unless those roads are designed to move traffic efficiently.

Creating a stronger connection between land use and transportation planning will help us build better communities and slow the growth of congestion. Let's begin by finally guaranteeing Virginians that their transportation dollars from the Transportation Trust Fund will never be spent for any other purpose.

Source: 2007 State of the State address to Virginia Assembly , Jan 10, 2007

Voted YES on authorizing states to collect Internet sales taxes.

Congressional Summary: The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 authorizes each state to require all sellers with sales exceeding $1 million in the preceding calendar year to collect and remit sales and use taxes, but only if complying with the minimum simplification requirements relating to the administration of such taxes & audits.

Opponent's Argument for voting No (Cnet.com): Online retailers are objecting to S.743, saying it's unreasonable to expect small businesses to comply with the detailed--and sometimes conflicting--regulations of nearly 10,000 government tax collectors. S.743 caps years of lobbying by the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represent big box stores. President Obama also supports the bill.

Proponent's Argument for voting Yes: Sen. COLLINS. This bill rectifies a fundamental unfairness in our current system. Right now, Main Street businesses have to collect sales taxes on every transaction, but outbecause -of-state Internet sellers don't have to charge this tax, they enjoy a price advantage over the mom-and-pop businesses. This bill would allow States to collect sales taxes on Internet sales, thereby leveling the playing field with Main Street businesses. This bill does not authorize any new or higher tax, nor does it impose an Internet tax. It simply helps ensure that taxes already owed are paid.

Opponent's Argument for voting No: Sen. WYDEN: This bill takes a function that is now vested in government--State tax collection--and outsources that function to small online retailers. The proponents say it is not going to be hard for small businesses to handle this--via a lot of new computer software and the like. It is, in fact, not so simple. There are more than 5,000 taxing jurisdictions in our country. Some of them give very different treatment for products and services that are almost identical.

Reference: Marketplace Fairness Act; Bill S.743 ; vote number 13-SV113 on May 6, 2013

Other governors on Technology: Tim Kaine on other issues:
VA Gubernatorial:
Bob McDonnell
Ken Cuccinelli
Robert Sarvis
Terry McAuliffe
VA Senatorial:
Ed Gillespie
James Webb
Mark Warner
Robert Sarvis

Gubernatorial Debates 2017:
NJ: Fulop(D) vs.Lesniak(D)
VA: Gillespie(R) vs.Wittman(R) vs.Northam(D)
Gubernatorial Debates 2016:
DE: Bonini(R) vs.Carney(D)
IN: Pence(R) vs.Gregg(D)
MO: Hanaway(R) vs.Brunner(R) vs.Kinder(R) vs.Greitens(R)
MT: Bullock(D) vs.Perea(R) vs.Johnson(R) vs.Gianforte(R) vs.McChesney(D)
NC: McCrory(R) vs.Cooper(D) vs.Spaulding(D)
ND: Dalrymple(R) vs.Stenehjem(R) vs.Becker(R) vs.Heitkamp(D) vs.Pomeroy(D)
NH: Hassan(D) vs.Bradley(R) vs.Sununu(R) vs.Lavoie(R) vs.Connolly(D) vs.Dextraze(I)
OR: Brown(D) vs.Bell(D) vs.Niemeyer(R) vs.Pierce(R)
UT: Herbert(R) vs.Johnson(R) vs.Cook(D)
VT: Shumlin(D) vs.Minter(D) vs.Dunne(D) vs.Scott(R) vs.Lisman(R) vs.Smith(D)
WA: Inslee(D) vs.Bryant(R)
WV: Kessler(R) vs.Cole(D)
Newly-elected governors (first seated in Jan. 2015):
AK-I: Bill Walker
AR-R: Asa Hutchinson
AZ-R: Doug Ducey
IL-R: Bruce Rauner
MA-R: Charlie Baker
MD-R: Larry Hogan
NE-R: Pete Ricketts
OR-D: Kate Brown
PA-D: Tom Wolf
RI-D: Gina Raimondo
TX-R: Greg Abbott

Lame ducks 2015-16:
DE-D: Jack Markell
(term-limited 2016)
KY-D: Steve Beshear
(term-limited 2015)
LA-R: Bobby Jindal
(term-limited 2015)
MO-D: Jay Nixon
(term-limited 2016)
VT-D: Peter Shumlin
(retiring 2016)
WV-D: Earl Ray Tomblin
(term-limited 2016)
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Contact info:
Campaign website:
www.kaineforva.com
Email:
team@kaineforva.com
Mailing Address:
PO Box 12307, Richmond, VA 23241
Phone:
804-819-1919





Page last updated: Jul 08, 2016