Sep
17
Monthly Archives: September 2025
Sep
17
Colorado Taxpayers Facing Threats from Big Government Advocates & Authoritarian Legislators
Links from video: https://freestatecolorado.com/herman/ A new proposed tax increase would be disastrous for Colorado. The economy is already struggling and many Coloradans are having trouble making ends meet. And yet, greedy politicians and their authoritarian allies working for non-profits want to take more of our money. Thankfully, we have people like Nash Herman who analyze policy and expose the implications of these schemes. Nash works for the Independence Institute in Denver, a Free-Market think tank. In this video, Nash explains why tax increases are a bad idea and shares insight into the mindset of greedy big government advocates.
Sep
11
The TABOR Committee’s Response about the T-Mobile/City of Lakewood Tax Case
The members of the TABOR Committee certainly were glad that both the trial court and the Colorado Supreme Court acted to preserve this piece of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights : (https://aboutbtax.com/bjrH). We have thought for years that courts have been too lenient in allowing the weakening of TABOR, and so strongly endorse this defense of the constitution.
The City of Lakewood tried to wiggle past this new tax without prior voter approval by expanding the reach of a limited and old telecommunications tax. That the judicial system confirmed that new technologies must be treated as such in order to be taxed and therefore require voter approval, is an excellent protection for the citizens of our state. The application of this understanding, that newly developed inventions cannot have old taxes extended to them, but must first ask the voters, is an important provision going forward that should cover a host of new ideas and innovations. The ruling also somewhat limits the damage done in the rulings for the TABOR Foundation vs. RTD case, in which taxes imposed on items never taxed before without a vote were allowed by the courts.
We were also thankful that the justices on the Supreme Court all understood and applied the plain meaning of TABOR and released the Opinion unanimously.
An issue that we wish would have been revisited was argued by the City to allow the new taxes because the taxes raised were too small to be relevant. It should be emphasized that such an argument always should be seen as nugatory, because TABOR has no de minimis language anywhere in its constitutional section. In fact, the opposite applies. Any tax increase ballot must conform to specific language that forecasts the amount to be raised. If the receipts come in higher than the projection, “[T]he excess shall be refunded” and the tax rate adjusted downward to meet the limits (paragraph 7(d)). No exception is mentioned in the provision. In the RTD case mentioned above, the Supreme Court then legislated the de minimis provision into TABOR, creating it out of whole cloth.
Penn Pfiffner
TABOR Committee Chairman
Sep
11
Colorado Chamber Applauds Landmark TABOR Decision from State Supreme Court
For media inquiries, please contact Cynthia Eveleth-Havens at CynthiaE@cochamber.com.
DENVER – The Colorado Chamber of Commerce today applauded the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in MetroPCS v. City of Lakewood, determining that the City of Lakewood failed to comply with Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). The Colorado Chamber submitted an amicus brief on the case in December 2024.
“This landmark case draws a sharp line in the sand for the state and local jurisdictions trying to tax voters without their approval,” said Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman. “This is the first time the Colorado Supreme Court has found a violation of TABOR’s voter approval requirements for new taxes, which could set an important precedent moving forward. Businesses depend on the predictability of our laws and tax policies, and we applaud the Court’s decision to prohibit taxing authorities from unilaterally imposing new taxes without the consent of voters.”
The Court ruled that Lakewood violated the state constitution by expanding a 1969 tax ordinance twice in the last three decades when it enacted a business and occupation tax on cell service providers without prior voter approval. The Court declared the ordinances violated TABOR laws making them void and requiring Lakewood to refund the tax it collected unlawfully over the past years.
The Colorado Chamber’s prior amicus brief can be found here: https://cochamber.com/wp-content/uploads/T-Mo-CO-Brief-of-Amicus-Curiae-Colorado-Chamber-of-Commerce.pdf
Colorado Chamber Applauds Landmark TABOR Decision from State Supreme Court
Sep
09
Colorado Supreme Court finds Lakewood unconstitutionally expanded phone provider tax
Colorado Supreme Court finds Lakewood unconstitutionally expanded phone provider tax
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Lakewood improperly expanded the scope of a 1969 tax ordinance twice to encompass cell phone providers without holding the popular vote the state constitution requires.
Click (HERE) to read the whole story
Sep
06
Colorado legislators deny move to delete ‘tax increase’ language in ballot title in statewide publication
Colorado legislators on Thursday rejected an attempt to change the title of a ballot measure in a widely disseminated publication in order to avoid mentioning that it would result in a tax increase for households with incomes above $300,000 a year.
The proponent of the change argued that keeping “tax increase” in the measure’s title would suggest that everybody’s taxes are going up. Legislators who balked at the move said the proposal, indeed, increases taxes — and policymakers should not hide that fact.
At issue is Proposition MM, which seeks to raise $95 million more for a school lunch program offered free to all K-12 students. Voters had approved the program in 2022, but it has run in the red from the beginning, given that every public school child can now receive a free breakfast and lunch, regardless of income.
Lawmakers had been scrambling to fill that funding gap in the last two years. They have since decided to ask voters to raise the tax liability of residents earning above the $300,000 threshold. That proposal is already slated for this November’s ballot.
Click (HERE) to continue reading this story at Colorado Politics.
Sep
06
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is located in Section 20 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution. The text of the section is as follows:
The Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) requires voter approval for all new taxes, tax rate increases, extensions of expiring taxes, mill levy increases, valuation for property assessment increases, or tax policy changes resulting in increased tax revenue.
Titles shall have this order of preference: “NOTICE OF ELECTION TO INCREASE TAXES/TO INCREASE DEBT/ON A CITIZEN PETITION/ON A REFERRED MEASURE.”
https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Taxpayer%27s_Bill_of_Rights_(TABOR)
Sep
04
Ballot measure seeks tax hike for higher income earners in 2026
A coalition led by a Colorado think tank will file a ballot initiative on Wednesday to raise state income tax rates on annual household incomes and corporations with earnings above $500,000.
The ballot measure, which sets up a “graduated” income tax, would also provide a tax break for households with incomes below the $500,000 threshold.
Broadly speaking, under a graduated income tax — which is also known as “progressive” tax — the rates are divided into brackets. The lower brackets pay a smaller rate; the higher levels are taxed a bigger rate. A graduated system would eliminate Colorado’s flat tax rate.
Under the coalition’s proposal, the higher bracket would pay more so that even with the tax break for incomes below $500,000, the graduated system would still pull in a bigger net revenue for the state government.
Click (HERE) to continue reading this TABOR article at Colorado Politics