NORFOLK, Va. — Providing relief at the supermarket is an initiative Governor Glenn Youngkin has spoken about since his campaign trail.
Starting January 1, 2023, Virginians will no longer see a 1.5% tax at the register when buying groceries. That's a $1.50 saved for every $100 spent.
“It’s exciting to see things now coming to fruition that we talked about two years ago," Youngkin said.
"This is what Virginians elected us to do is to deliver on promises made."
Youngkin said it’s part of his administration’s plan to cut taxes in the Commonwealth.
“Now we got to go to work to get rates down for people, and we’re going to finish the work on our standard deduction and get that up to a double," he said.
Though, the cut doesn’t completely wipe out taxes on groceries in Virginia. Localities can still add a 1% tax at check-out if they so choose.
When asked if Youngkin encourages localities to wipe the local grocery tax, he says he wants local governments to look at their overall tax structure.
“I think the layering of sales tax, of grocery taxes, of food taxes on top of property taxes, car taxes and real estate taxes is really a tough thing for Virginians,” he said.
He hopes to get support on the local level to cut taxes in order to attract more people and businesses to the state.
"Remember, businesses and people make a decision on 'where I want to live'," he said.
"And we are now turning the tide in getting people and businesses to stay in Virginia, but we're going to need some help from the localities as well."