The Vermont House is expected to vote on an $8 billion state spending plan this week
The Vermont House is expected to vote on an $8 billion state spending plan this week. It comes as lawmakers consider millions in new investments and millions in new taxes to fund them. A key House panel advanced a plan to fund critical priorities in the budget, floated by about $125 million in new taxes. The House Appropriations Committee is considering a state spending plan, including a big expansion of Medicaid, an expansion of the judiciary and more supports for affordable housing. And those ideas are all funded by new taxes– increases in the corporate income tax, the foreign income tax and the property transfer tax, and a new tax bracket for Vermonters who make more than $500,000 annually. A proposal to tax unrealized gains like stocks did not advance. Others, like a potential tax on candy, soda, streaming services and an expansion of the sales tax are still up for debate.