One would think that an election in which the Democrats announced their support for tax increases and promptly got waxed at the polls would convince the Republicans in that state to avoid increasing taxes.
If so, one would not be aware of Emmett Hanger.
The apparent heir to John “What’s in Your Wallet” Chichester is at it again, with not one, not two, but three separate bills to reach into the pockets of Virginia taxpayers. Even worse, a large swath of his fellow Senate Republicans are along for the ride.
Here are the bills:
SB342, which lets counties and cities slap a transient occupancy tax on anyone who rents a room in their own house for less than one month: passed the Senate 31-9.
SB343, which would “annually adjust” (i.e., perpetually raise) the gas tax: also passed the Senate 31-9.
SB660, the “Amazon” tax (Norm at TQ has been banging on this one for a while now): passed the Senate 28-12.
We can only hope that Speaker Howell consigns these to the circular file. The last thing we need is to have voters think the Virginia GOP is reaching for the tax-hike bottle again.
[...] Cross-posted to RWL [...]
I commented this on the VV posting, but I’m going to do it here also – how would people feel about a primary challenge to Sen. Hanger?
Sam,
Hanger beat back a primary challenge in 2K7, but I’d certainly love to see the folks out there give it another try.
[...] suspect the State Senate incorporated Emmett Hanger’s tax-hike bill, which Norm at TQ has also panned. Sadly, eight Republicans in the State Senate (the usual [...]
[...] suspect the State Senate incorporated Emmett Hanger’s tax-hike bill, which Norm at TQ has also panned. Sadly, eight Republicans in the State Senate (the usual [...]