The coronavirus pandemic could cost Virginia billions of dollars in tax revenue moving forward.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said the state has taken an $800 million tax revenue hit in the quarter, and that the losses will probably total $2.5 billion to $3 billion over the next two years.
“But we’re going to come out of this, I think, in a very strong position, especially compared to other states,” Northam said, noting that Virginia’s reserve fund is strong and that the state has received around $3.3 billion in federal help.
Northam plans to bring the legislature back in August when they have a better idea of the state’s revenue.
Speaking at a virtual event held by the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Northam also spoke about Virginia’s reopening.
“We’re going to continue to practice good habits, and just hope if we can do that, that we won’t have a resurgence of this in the fall,” he said. “That would be very damaging for Virginia and for the rest of this country.”
Northam also took a shot at the federal pandemic response by referencing his time as a military doctor.
“We trained for chemical and biological war,” Northam said. “We are in the middle of a biological war right now, and we have been asked to fight this war as governors with absolutely no supplies.”
Still, Northam said the state is now in a “good place” in terms of personal protective equipment, testing and hospital capacity.
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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.
