Author Archives: Stephen D. Haner

About Stephen D. Haner

Stephen D. Haner is Senior Fellow for State and Local Tax Policy at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. He may be reached at steve@thomasjeffersoninst.org.

Something for Everyone in COVID Money Flood

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Stephen D. Haner

Will $50 million be enough? Will that get all the Virginians who have fallen behind due to COVID-19 square on their rent or mortgage payments?  Or is that amount, in a new relief program detailed Monday by the Northam Administration, merely a … Continue reading →

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COVID Declared a Workplace Emergency in Virginia: Will New Regulations Drive Business Out of Business?

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Stephen D. Haner

The Northam Administration’s Safety and Health Codes Board agreed June 24 that COVID-19 in the state’s workplaces demands an emergency state response, but the nature and exact wording of that response remains undecided.  If adopted, formal regulations come with the potential for … Continue reading →

Posted in Government Reform | 1 Comment

Spaced Out, Hidden, Here Come the 2020 Tax Hikes

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Stephen D. Haner

The 2020 General Assembly, with its new progressive Democratic majority, passed nearly two dozen changes in Virginia tax laws that will begin to hit individuals and businesses in a few weeks on July 1. Because of the COVID-19 economic shutdown, … Continue reading →

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Governor Punts on First Down

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Stephen D. Haner

Just as COVID-19 was starting its destruction of the world’s economy in early March, the Virginia General Assembly took final action on an exuberant two-year state budget within shouting distance of $140 billion. Six weeks later at the Reconvened Session, … Continue reading →

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Mutated by COVID, Unemployment Insurance Unsustainable

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Stephen D. Haner

America’s and Virginia’s unemployment insurance program – born of the Great Depression and the Social Security Act of 1935 – may be another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has mutated unemployment insurance into a form not financially sustainable. … Continue reading →

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