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1 Joseph Henchman, Virginia Supreme Court Considers Taxpayer Protections in NVTA Tax Case 1 (2008)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/srbfjxz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: February 2008 No. 159 V.i i S.........p re me........................C ......................d .................. Taxpyer rotctios inN\T TaxCaJ Introduction and Summary On January 1, 2008, residents of Northern Virginia began paying seven new taxes that will raise $326 million a year. The taxes are im- posed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), a governmental entity cre- ated in 2002 but not given the power to tax and issue bonds until 2007.' Only an elected body can issue debt or impose taxes. Here, the Northern Virginia Tanspo raion Authority, not the legislature, is imposing taxes and issuing deb. Because its members are not elected, its actions should be held to violate Article VL, Section 7. The taxes may not last long. The Virginia Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit chal- lenging the NVTA as unconstitutional, primarily because an unelected board cannot impose taxes without voter approval under the Virginia Constitution. Indeed, in this case, voters have on several occasions explicitly re- jected NVTA-tvpe taxes. Oral arguments were heard by the state supreme court on January 8, 2008, after a lower court judge (Judge Benjamin Kendrick) had ruled the NVTA to be constitutional.2 Many states have taxpayer protections built into their state constitution, and Virginia is no exception. Some of these Virginia tax- payer protections include: Legislative power is vested with the legislature and cannot be delegated without constraints.' This limits the legislature if it seeks to avoid responsi- bility by turning over the decision-making power to other entities. * The power to tax, once described by Chief Justice John Marshall as the power to destroy, 4 cannot be 1 The NXVTA website's FAQ helpfully notes that the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is distinct from the Northern Virginia Transportation Mliance, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC). 2 See AN' IA v. Varshal, No. 07-923 (Arlington Co. Cir. Ct. August 31, 2007). 3 See VA. CoNsT. Article IV, Sec. 1. See also 1 A. Howard, Commenaries on the ComzUuon oJ I'ginAz (1974) at 468 (The vesting of legislative power in the General Assembly reflects the notion that legislative power cannot be delegated.). 4 M'Cullough v. Muyland, 17 U.S. (4 W{heat.) 316, 431 (1819). By foseph j enchmhian T-za Counse

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