Low-income working individuals and families can qualify for an Earned Income Tax Credit of up to $4,824 this year. For those who qualify, taxes will be prepared at no cost through a program offered by the Hanover County Department of Social Services beginning February 4, 2009. To qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), earnings last year must been:

If the proper role of government is to coerce or browbeat the public into the correct behavior according to the majority, then Gov. Tim Kaine is exactly right to propose yet another tax on the people of Virginia. However, if, like me, you believe the role of government is limited to only those functions that are for the common good of all citizens, then you should be gravely concerned about the modern concept of attempting to establish by government policy what is best for the individual.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposal to double Virginia’s cigarette tax is unfair, the nation’s top tobacco company said yesterday, but public health groups called on state lawmakers to quadruple the tax to $1.20 per pack. “We think it is unfair to single out one industry to bear this tax burden,“ said Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Henrico County-based cigarette maker Philip Morris USA.