DATE: Friday, July 25, 1997                 TAG: 9707250710

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   74 lines

BEYER SAYS HIS BID FOR TAX CUT OUTRUNS GILMORE PROPOSAL

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Donald S. Beyer Jr. told a legislative commission Thursday that his tax-cut proposal is more realistic and fiscally responsible than his Republican opponent's plan.

Beyer explained his $202 million-a-year tax cut at a meeting of the Commission on State and Local Responsibility and Taxing Authority, which he chaired until last month. He is still a member.

Last month, the Democrat-dominated panel grilled Del. Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk, about Republican James S. Gilmore III's proposal to virtually eliminate the personal property tax on cars. Gilmore had asked Drake to appear on his behalf.

Beyer was more gently questioned Thursday about his plan to give car owners a state income tax credit of up to $250 a year. The only harsh questioning came from two Republican members of the commission.

``My plan is real, it's responsible, and it will take effect right away,'' said Beyer, the two-term lieutenant governor.

His proposal is based on projected revenue growth of 5.5 percent per year over the next four years, which he said is more realistic than Gilmore's forecast of 6.2 percent.

Beyer also said his plan is constitutional and would not affect local governments.

Gilmore's proposal calls for localities to discontinue collecting the personal property tax on cars and trucks valued at $20,000 or less. The state would use surplus revenues to reimburse local governments.

Gilmore estimates the cost at $1 billion over four years and $620 million a year when fully implemented, but critics say the cost would be much greater.

A.E. Dick Howard, the top authority on the Virginia Constitution, has said Gilmore's plan would require a constitutional amendment. Local governments oppose it because they don't trust the state to repay them.

Beyer also noted that Gilmore's plan would be phased in over four years, and the big impact on the state budget would not be felt until the fifth year - after the next governor leaves office.

``My plan is immediate,'' he said. ``We can act on it and make it happen in the next General Assembly. . . . This is, I deeply believe, a better idea.''

Del. Leo Wardrup of Virginia Beach, chairman of the Joint Republican Caucus, later chided Beyer for proposing a tax cut weeks after Gilmore announced his plan.

``I'm not sure it's a better idea, but it's a belated one,'' he said.

In a brief question-and-answer session with the commission, Beyer sidestepped a question by Del. S. Vance Wilkins Jr., R-Amherst, on how he could cut taxes by $808 million and still pay for other items in his platform.

Beyer said the commission invited him to explain his tax cut, not ``to debate all the other spending plans.''

But he assured Wilkins he could meet his commitments.

Sen. Joseph Benedetti, R-Richmond, said Beyer's proposal leaves out the poorest Virginians - those who pay no income tax, but still have to pay the local car tax.

Beyer said his platform includes other ways of helping the poor, such as increasing need-based aid for college students and eliminating the sales tax on over-the-counter drugs.

Wilkins opened the meeting by repeating a charge he made last month - that the commission is running political interference for Beyer.

Commission chairwoman Eva S. Teig, who served in Democratic Gov. Gerald L. Baliles' Cabinet in the 1980s, later dismissed Wilkins' accusation as ``nonsense.''

``We've worked together in a bipartisan way on other things, and I hope we can on this too,'' she said.

Wilkins proposed in a resolution that the commission return its $50,000 state appropriation and ``cease engaging . . . in partisan political activity designed to influence the outcome of the 1997 gubernatorial election.''

The resolution was overwhelmingly defeated. ILLUSTRATION: Donald S. Beyer Jr. told a panel Thursday, ``My plan

is real, it's responsible, and it will take effect right away.'' KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE GUBERNATORIAL RACE

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