Discover Virginia


Virginia economy

According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of EconomicNavy, as well as by NASA and has the largest
Analysis report, Virginia’s grossconcentration of military bases and
state product was $326.6 billion. The perfacilities of any metropolitan area in the
capita  personal  income was $35,477 in 2004.world.
In 2006 Forbes Magazine voted Virginia asTechnology
having the best climate for business in the
United States citing economic growth,Computer chips became the state's
business costs/incentives and quality ofhighest-grossing export in 2006 surpassing
life.its traditional top exports of coal and
cigarettes,  combined.
Virginia's economy is well balanced with
diverse sources of income. From the HamptonThe state's biotechnology industry is not
Roads area to Richmond and down to Lee Countycentralized, but growing, highlighted by the
in the southwest includes militarybuilding of the Virginia BioTechnology
installations, cattle, tobacco and peanutResearch Park biotech incubator and the
farming in Southside Virginia. Soy recentlyopening of the lauded Janelia Farm Research
surpassed tobacco as the most profitable cropCampus.
in Virginia. Wineries and vineyards in the
Northern Neck and along the Blue RidgeHampton Roads is currently the third-largest
Mountains also have become increasinglycenter of the emerging modeling and
popular. Northern Virginia (once consideredsimulation industry in the U.S. behind
the state's dairy capital) hosts software,Orlando  and  Huntsville,  Alabama.
communications, consulting, defense
contracting, diplomats, and considerableTaxation
components of the professional government
sector. Loudoun and Fairfax counties inVirginia collects personal income tax in five
Northern Virginia have the highest and secondincome brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%.
highest median household income,The sales and use tax rate is 5%. The tax
respectively, of all counties in the Unitedrate on food is 1.5%. There is an additional
States  as  of  2006.[citation  needed]1% local tax, for a total of a 5% combined
sales tax on most Virginia purchases and a
There are seven Fortune 500 companiescombined tax rate of 2.5% on food. Virginia's
headquartered in Northern Virginia, and nineproperty tax is set and collected at the
in the Richmond area (most of which arelocal government level and varies throughout
within  the  city  itself).the commonwealth. Real estate is taxed at the
local level based on 100% of fair market
Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southernvalue. Effective true tax rates on real
state before the Civil War, recovered fromestate vary and are set by locality. Tangible
the Civil War and the Great Depression muchpersonal property also is taxed at the local
faster than the rest of the South. Today,level and is based on a percentage or
Virginia is one of the wealthiest states inpercentages of original cost. Tangible
the  South.personal property includes, but is not
limited to, machinery and equipment,
Federal  Governmentfurniture, fixtures, and trucks and
automobiles. The Virginia General Assembly
Well-known government agencies headquarteredexempted intangible personal property from
in the state include the Central Intelligencetaxation in 1984 by making the tax rate zero.
Agency and Department of Defense. NorthernVirginia does not collect inheritance taxes;
Virginia is a bastion of federal spending[4],however, its estate tax is decoupled from the
particularly with regards to defensefederal estate tax laws, and therefore the
contracting. Hampton Roads is usedCommonwealth imposes its own estate tax.
extensively by most notably the United States



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