Barack Obama claims that he doesn’t want to increase taxes on anyone making less than $250,000. Well, we’ll see. But never fear. Even if Obama miraculously manages to keep that promise, Republicans in the Texas legislature will make sure that taxpayers in all income tax brackets feel the pinch of new and higher taxes.

Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Southlake) and Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) are sponsoring legislation that could cost taxpayers thousands of dollars each year. HB 9 and SB 855 propose a bevy of potential new taxes, allegedly needed to finance certain transportation projects. If passed, the legislation would enable local officials to enact new gas taxes (up to 10 cents per gallon), a fee for the privilege of parking your own car (up to $1 per hour), a "new resident roadway impact fee" (up to $250), and other motor vehicle emission fees, driver’s license renewal fees, and motor registration fees.

Because we weren’t paying enough state taxes and fees already. And because in a bad economy, the government needs your money much more than you do. Pet government projects like expanding rail service should not be ignored, simply because taxpayers are watching their 401ks go up in smoke.

A few of the proposed taxes have special dangers. The gas tax starts at "only" 10 cents per gallon. But the legislation provides that the tax will increase automatically on an annual basis. The complicated legislative formula amounts to annual tax increases that will exceed the rate of inflation. Tax increases should always be the subject of voter scrutiny and legislative debate. This hidden process would inappropriately shield legislators from difficult and controversial decisions, even as they reap the "rewards" of more money to spend on government programs.

The "parking regulation and management fee" is dangerous because it is so poorly defined. The legislation states that the fee shall be "in the amount of $1 per hour per vehicle use of a parking space." For purposes of this legislation, what is a "parking space"? The vague language leaves open the possibility that even your own driveway counts. Who is to administrate this fee if/when private parking spaces are included in the broad sweep of the tax? Will we pay government officials on our way in and out of malls? Or will we be on our honor to report the amount of time that we spend parked versus driving? Or will it be assumed that cars are parked certain amounts of the day, until we prove otherwise to some government bureaucrat?

Keep in mind that $1 per hour, 365 days a year amounts to a tax of $8,760 per car that you own, as Texans for Fiscal Responsibility recently noted. Assuming arguendo that it is appropriate to tax people for the privilege of parking their cars, it is important that legislators make these definitions as precise as possible.

Finally, some Texans might be less worried about the taxes on new residents—taxes that current voters won’t have to pay. Such a lack of concern is short-sighted. The State of Texas should strive to create an inviting atmosphere for new companies, residents, and visitors. Taxation discourages this activity. We’ve already been short-sighted enough to impose all sorts of rental car and hotel taxes. Now we are going to charge new residents a fee for moving here, too?

Truitt, Carona and other big-government Republicans justify their proposed tax increases by noting that it is a "local option." In other words, the taxes won’t be imposed in a particular metroplex until Texans there have had a chance to vote on it.

Well, that’s better than no vote, I suppose. Hopefully, the tax increases would get voted down before they could do any more damage to an already shaky economy. But we all know that there is a very real danger of another outcome: The ballot language will be confusing or misleading (as it so often is). It will emphasize the many benefits that the city or county will now provide for voters, and it will be vague about how much that project will cost. It will emphasize the portion of the bill that claims that low-income residents can get a waiver on the taxes. It will evade the issue of who exactly qualifies for that waiver. The taxes will be enacted before voters realize what they’ve done to themselves.

Republicans in the state legislature should be protecting their constituents from this type of outcome. They should not be unlocking the door to new taxes, sticking their foot in the door, and hoping someone else pushes the door the rest of the way open.

This article has addressed several problems with the proposed new slate of taxes. Some of these particular concerns may be addressed as the bill is revised in committee. Indeed, at least one solution was offered as this article was being completed. Upon hearing initial criticism of his bill, Carona suggested that 20 percent turnout should be required in a local election before taxes can be enacted. More than likely someone will work on the definition of "parking space." Big deal. Such changes are just tinkering at the edges of the real problem. The real issue is that the State of Texas should not be raising taxes and starting new, unnecessary projects during a time of fiscal crisis. New taxes are an unwanted burden on taxpayers that will stifle and undermine economic recovery in Texas.

Republican legislators, of all people, should not have to be taught such a basic economic principle.

Many big-government Republicans in the Texas House have been acting like tax-and-spend liberals for years. Perhaps it’s time they changed that R behind their names to a D.