Jan 28

When it comes to repairing Colorado roads, is there a better solution than the gas tax?

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Editor’s Note: Denver7 360 stories explore multiple sides of the topics that matter most to Coloradans, bringing in different perspectives so you can make up your own mind about the issues. To comment on this or other 360 stories, email us at 360@TheDenverChannel.com. See more 360 stories here.

DENVER — With more drivers using Colorado roads, there’s not only more traffic, but more wear and tear on the infrastructure. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has identified $9 billion in needs from repair and replacement to improvements to help alleviate congestion.

“Without funding, these can’t get fixed,” said CDOT executive director Shoshana Lew.

For decades, the gas tax has served as the state’s main source of funding for transportation projects. Each time a driver fills up their gas tank, 18 cents go to the federal government and another 22 cents go to the state.

However, the state gas tax hasn’t been raised in nearly three decades.

So, is it time to raise the gas tax or are there other ideas to raise money for Colorado roads? Denver7 went 360 to hear multiple perspectives on the issue of transportation funding.

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Jan 28

How will legislative Democrats pay for their agenda?

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DENVER–Governor Polis and the majority Democrats have an ambitious agenda this legislative session. Question is, how will they pay for it all?  With the failure of Proposition CC in November, those who were hanging their hats on voters giving up future tax refunds, allowing the state to keep and spend overcollected tax revenue, will need to find new pots of money.  Indeed, not only did Coloradans vote to keep the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) revenue limit in place, that limit has been hit and the state income tax rate is actually ratcheting down for the year.

Republican strategist Roger Hudson and Democrat strategist Miller Hudson recently sat down with Complete Colorado editor-in-Chief Mike Krause on the public affairs TV show Devil’s Advocate (airs Friday nights at 8:30 on Colorado Public Television, channel 12) to talk about where Democrats might turn to bring in new revenues. Both agree that one option is more more fee-funded government-run enterprises, which operate outside the TABOR budget cap. Check out the video below to find out more.

VIDEO: How will legislative Democrats pay for their agenda?

Jan 28

River district considering tax hike

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The board of the Western Slope’s Colorado River District is considering whether to ask residents in the 15 counties it serves, including Mesa County, to approve a tax hike.

The district’s general manager, Andy Mueller, is recommending that the board consider seeking voter approval in November to raise the district’s property tax mill levy to 0.5 mills. That would boost annual revenues by about $4.9 million, much of which the district could use to work with partners to fund water projects.

The increase would cost the average homeowner in the district an estimated $8.63 a year, but that amount would vary widely across the district due to disparities in property values, ranging from about $3.71 a year in Moffat County to $23 a year in Pitkin County. The increase would cost about $1.90 a year per $100,000 of assessed valuation.

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Jan 23

Bipartisan bill proposes fee-based hazard mitigation enterprise; to fall outside TABOR revenue limits

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Bipartisan bill proposes fee-based hazard mitigation enterprise; to fall outside TABOR revenue limits

January 22, 2020 By Scott Weiser


Hazard mitigation controlled burn
Courtesy of W. Perry Conway

DENVER–House members Matt Soper, R-Grand Junction and Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County are proposing to create a new state-owned hazard mitigation enterprise that would collect a 0.05% fee on certain policies from insurance companies.

The enterprise would in part “assist entities that apply for federal grants that require matching funds and are dedicated to assisting in the implementation of pre-disaster hazard mitigation measures.”

Other tasks include “public education on the importance of insurance in buying down risk and for the continuity of business operations, and provide local governments technical information and support on natural hazard mitigation through land use and building codes.”

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Jan 23

Income tax rate reduction bill killed by Senate Democrats

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Income tax rate reduction bill killed by Senate Democrats

(Photo illustration by Tinnakorn Jorruang, iStock)

Gov. Jared Polis, in his state of the state address on Jan. 9, continued to voice support for the concept of an income tax rate reduction, but it isn’t going over well with Democrats in the state legislature.

And they showed that on Wednesday, when Democrats on the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee put to an end Senate Bill 20, voting it down on a 3-2 party-line vote.

The measure is the second attempt in the past two years from Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling.

Sonnenberg’s bill would reduce the state’s individual and corporate income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.49%. The bill’s fiscal analysis said it would cost the state $143.8 million in lost tax revenue in 2019-20 and $294.6 million the following year.

And because of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), that reduction would be permanent unless voters decided to allow the state to increase income tax rates through a ballot measure.

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Jan 19

2020 Triggers Blue State Tax Cuts, As Colorado Shows How To Insulate A State From Higher Taxes And Unsustainable Spending

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The new year has brought reduced income tax rates to two Democrat-run states: Colorado and Massachusetts. These income tax cuts were the result of two and nearly three decade old laws that triggered this new round of income tax relief in the face of opposition from progressive politicians who control state government in Denver and Boston.

Massachusetts’ flat income tax rate dropped from 5.05% to 5.00% on New Years Day 2020, the result of a ballot measure approved by Massachusetts voters in the year 2000, the implementation of which was subsequently delayed by Massachusetts legislators. Colorado, like Massachusetts, is another state where the ruling political class saw an income tax cut that it opposed take effect on January 1, with the rate dropping from 4.63% to 4.5% for one year. This temporary rate cut is the result of a law approved by Colorado voters eight years before Massachusetts’ two decade-old tax cut-triggering ballot measure.

The temporary income tax cut that recently took effect in Colorado is due to the state’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), an amendment to the state constitution approved by voters in 1992 that to this day is the strongest taxpayer safeguard in the nation. Under TABOR, state revenue cannot grow faster than the combined rate of population growth and inflation. Any state revenue collected in excess of the TABOR cap must be refunded to taxpayers.

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Jan 17

House Republican Whip Rod Montoya to introduce New Mexico Taxpayer Bill of Rights

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By NEW MEXICO HOUSE GOP • JAN 15, 2020

Commentary:  Today, Rep. Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) announced he will introduce legislation for the upcoming 2020 Legislative Session establishing a New Mexico Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). The constitutional amendment, if enacted, will restrict annual spending by state lawmakers and require any future tax increase to be approved by a three-fifths majority in both chambers. Additionally, the amendment would provide taxpayers with annual rebates after spending limits are met. If approved, the constitutional amendment would be placed on the ballot for voter ratification in the 2020 general election.

Since Governor Lujan Grisham was elected, she has supported increasing state spending by $3.7 billion and signed into law one of the largest tax increases in the state’s history.

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Jan 17

House Republican introduces ‘Taxpayer Bill of Rights’

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State Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, announced a plan Wednesday to introduce legislation that would enact a constitutional amendment making it substantially more difficult to raise taxes in New Mexico.

The House minority whip said he plans to introduce the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” out of concern the Democrat-controlled Legislature is spending far too much money after an influx from Permian Basin oil and gas revenue.

Montoya’s plan would create a constitutional amendment that would require a three-fifths majority in both the state House and Senate to raise taxes. It also would offer taxpayers annual rebates when there’s a budget surplus beyond state spending levels.

In 2019, state coffers were padded with a nearly $900 million surplus from oil and gas extraction revenue. If Montoya’s proposal had been in place, every New Mexico resident would have received a $525 rebate for 2019 and 2020, he said.

Montoya’s House GOP-backed proposal is unlikely to proceed, but if approved by the Legislature, the proposed amendment would go on the ballot for voters to consider in the 2020 general election.

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