
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995                   TAG: 9501270073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

SOUTHWEST VA. LEGISLATORS ASSAIL BUSINESS-TAX PLAN

Critics of Gov. George Allen's proposal to abolish a business tax say he is like a Robin Hood gone bad, robbing the poor to give to the rich.

At issue is the Republican governor's plan to replace local governments' lost revenue - about $300 million a year - with state funds.

Legislators from Southwest Virginia said Thursday that the proposal is unfair to their region because most counties here don't impose the gross receipts tax and therefore would not get any of the state booty.

Many more-affluent counties do have the Business, Professional and Occupational License tax, or BPOL. Businesses claim the tax is regressive because it is assessed on gross receipts without regard for a company's profitability.

Del. Thomas Jackson, D-Hillsville, said it is unfair to expect taxpayers in his area to subsidize wealthier localities that for decades have collected what Allen calls a ``despised tax.''

Allen's proposal is ``a local welfare program for localities that are past sinners and are now being brought to the altar,'' Jackson said.

Jackson, joined at a news conference by Del. Jackie Stump, D-Buchanan County, and Sen. Jack Reasor, D-Bluefield, pointed to a map showing that most counties that don't levy the BPOL tax are in the southwest, southside, Eastern Shore and northern Shenandoah Valley.

Legislators from many of those areas for years have been seeking up to $200 million to reduce disparity in school funding and have been told the money is not available, Jackson said.

``Now we find that we have $300 million to distribute,'' he said.

Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe accused the Democratic legislators of engaging in a ``campaign of misinformation.'' He said that while most counties in Southwest Virginia don't levy BPOL, most of its cities and larger towns do.

Bristol, for example, collects $2 million a year in BPOL taxes, Stroupe said. Abingdon gets $1.7 million.

Jackson acknowledged that many cities and towns in the region impose the tax, but he said the amount is minuscule in comparison to Northern Virginia, the Hampton Roads area and central Virginia.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995

by CNB