2008 VA Senate Debate between Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner: on Tax Reform


Jim Gilmore: In times of economic stress, don’t raise taxes

Gilmore tried to portray Mark Warner as the mirror image of Barack Obama. “We have to put together an energy policy, financial policies that will do the right things for people, but Mark Warner wants to raise taxes; Barack Obama wants to raise taxes,” Gilmore said. “This is not going to be healthy for the economy in a time of stress.”

Warner said he has expressed support only for rolling back top-tier tax breaks by the Bush administration and is against tax increases on small businesses.

Source: 2008 VA Senate Debate in The Washington Times Sep 19, 2008

Jim Gilmore: Signature achievement: effort to eliminate Virginia car tax

Gilmore, whose signature achievement as governor was his effort to eliminate Virginia’s car tax, frequently mentioned that Warner pushed through a $1.4 billion tax increase in 2004. The car tax never was fully revoked because of budget restraints.

Warner countered that the tax increase was needed to close a $6 billion budget shortfall that he said he inherited from Gilmore. Gilmore said he left office with a balanced budget. Gilmore said Warner’s tax increase did little to help road-building, and they were proof that Warner would support higher federal taxes as well. “Taxes are coming at us like a freight train,” Gilmore said. Gilmore was referring to Obama’s proposal to roll back Bush’s tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans. Warner said he supports eliminating those tax cuts as a way of reducing the federal deficit.

Source: 2008 VA Senate debate reported in Washington Post Sep 19, 2008

Mark Warner: Roll back top-tier tax breaks

Gilmore tried to portray Mark Warner as the mirror image of Barack Obama. “We have to put together an energy policy, financial policies that will do the right things for people, but Mark Warner wants to raise taxes; Barack Obama wants to raise taxes,” Gilmore said. “This is not going to be healthy for the economy in a time of stress.”

Warner said he has expressed support only for rolling back top-tier tax breaks by the Bush administration and is against tax increases on small businesses.

Source: 2008 VA Senate Debate in The Washington Times Sep 19, 2008

Mark Warner: Pushed $1.4B tax increase to close $6B budget shortfall

Gilmore, whose signature achievement as governor was his effort to eliminate Virginia’s car tax, frequently mentioned that Warner pushed through a $1.4 billion tax increase in 2004. The car tax never was fully revoked because of budget restraints.

Warner countered that the tax increase was needed to close a $6 billion budget shortfall that he said he inherited from Gilmore. Gilmore said he left office with a balanced budget. Gilmore said Warner’s tax increase did little to help road-building, and they were proof that Warner would support higher federal taxes as well. “Taxes are coming at us like a freight train,” Gilmore said. Gilmore was referring to Obama’s proposal to roll back Bush’s tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans. Warner said he supports eliminating those tax cuts as a way of reducing the federal deficit.

Source: 2008 VA Senate debate reported in Washington Post Sep 19, 2008

Jim Gilmore: Warner raised taxes without fully informing us about revenue

RHETORIC: Gilmore: “Your Secretary of Finance John Bennett sent you a letter and reported in February [of 2004] and said ‘Guess what? Revenues are climbing’...Why didn’t you tell the people of Virginia what you knew and what you were being told so that tax increase could have gone forward with all the facts available and probably would have never been enacted. Why didn’t you tell the people of Virginia what you were being told by your own people?“

REALITY: The update to the Joint Finance Committee letters are public, e-mailed to all General Assembly members, and posted on the web just after the Governor receives it. The monthly revenue reports also are widely reported by the media

Source: 2008 VA Senate Debate: analysis by Warner campaign Jul 19, 2008

Mark Warner: Vetoed offshore drilling ban until more laws & facts known

RHETORIC: Gilmore: “Your Secretary of Finance John Bennett sent you a letter and reported in February [of 2004] and said ‘Guess what? Revenues are climbing’...Why didn’t you tell the people of Virginia what you knew and what you were being told so that tax increase could have gone forward with all the facts available and probably would have never been enacted. Why didn’t you tell the people of Virginia what you were being told by your own people?“

REALITY: The update to the Joint Finance Committee letters are public, e-mailed to all General Assembly members, and posted on the web just after the Governor receives it. The monthly revenue reports also are widely reported by the media

Source: 2008 VA Senate Debate: analysis by Warner campaign Jul 19, 2008

Mark Warner: Gilmore promised car tax repeal at $620M; but it cost $2B

RHETORIC: Gilmore said, “It is not true that the car tax cost three times as much [in its repeal as Warner said it would when he was running for Governor].”

REALITY: While running for governor in 1997, Gilmore promised Virginia voters that his car tax repeal would cost no more than $620 million and would not require any cuts in core services. By the time Gilmore left, he cut millions from necessary programs and the car tax repeal was creating a nearly $2 billion hole in Virginia’s budget. [AP, 4/30/04

Source: 2008 VA Senate Debate: analysis by Warner campaign Jul 19, 2008

  • The above quotations are from 2008 VA Senate Debate between Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
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  • Click here for more quotes by Jim Gilmore on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Mark Warner on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 02, 2018