Sales Tax Scandal Rocks Virginia: Corruption or Pragmatism?

October 29, 1959, will be remembered as the day the politicians in Virginia’s capital, Richmond, got caught in a tangled web of taxation and power struggles. Governor Almond, the mastermind behind the plan to introduce a sales tax, had been secretly meeting with his advisors to hammer out the details of the state’s 1960-1962 budget. The news of his intentions sent shockwaves throughout the state, with Arlington delegation members and Legislative candidates displaying a mix of hesitation and defiance.