A few days ago Virginia House Republicans sang Kubaya with Democrats after passing a $520 Million two year tax hike by closing "tax loopholes" for businesses. Yesterday, Virginia Senate Republicans proposed a two year $3.6 Billion tax hike on individual Virginia taxpayers. ($3.6B according to the Post, $2.5B according to the Times.)

The House plan, championed by Delegate Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, is being sold vis-a-vis a Democrat mantra that sounds very familiar. The Times reports:

Mr. Hamilton argues that his plan does not constitute a tax increase; it simply eliminates tax breaks to generate revenue for a budget projected to be $1.2 billion short of its needs.

According to House Republicans, a $520 Million increase in taxes is not a tax increase. Democrat Governor Mark Warner, who has been pushing for a $1 Billion two year tax hike, says it's not enough. So Senate Republicans answered his call by proposing an increase 7 times the size of the one passed in the House.

If the bill is passed by the full Senate, that means Virginians will face a 'perfect storm' of tax increases when the budget is finally reconciled. I'm not the first to say this, but the nation's economic turnaround would be much more effective if the states didn't keep increasing taxes to erase any benefit provided by the federal tax cuts.