Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that the commonwealth is on pace to post a surplus when the fiscal year ends on June 30. The news vindicates McDonnell’s decision earlier this year to slash spending – and not raise taxes – to deal with an unprecedented $4 billion deficit in Virginia’s biennial budget.

“This is a small, yet very important, indicator that activity is returning to our economy…There is much work to be done, and many more positive reports will be needed before we can truly say we have turned the corner on one of the worst economic downturns in our nation’s history,” McDonnell said. “However, today’s revenue report contains a number of items that should be highlighted, and provide some welcome good news after years of the opposite.”