If you see this on your ballot, you are voting for a TAX INCREASE!
“Ballot titles for tax or bonded debt increases shall begin, “SHALL (DISTRICT) TAXES BE INCREASED (first, or if phased in, final, full fiscal year dollar increase) ANNUALLY…?” or “SHALL (DISTRICT) DEBT BE INCREASED (principal amount), WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF (maximum total district cost), …?”
https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/laws/COConstitution/ArticleXSection20.html
Hi Kid @HiKidHey asked this on X (Twitter): “So what does that mean for voters? Who is ultimately responsible for the TABOR violation? The local county clerk or the district’s designated election official? Genuinely curious.”
Property tax caps have been restored in Colorado. That’s thanks to the pressure from the Citizens’ Tax Cap, compelling state politicians to address the property tax crisis in an August 2024 Legislative Special Session because local governments didn’t lower the property tax mill levies and alleviate the problem.
The property tax crisis was created because voters in local elections in the past has unwittingly voted to forfeit caps in our constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and statutory 5.5% Annual Property Tax Cap, recognizing later it was a big mistake. State politicians had mixed feelings about the 2024 Special Session, fiscally conservative legislators thought that HB 24B-1001 didn’t provide enough assurance that residents would not be taxed out of homes. Some “progressive” elected officials thought it was horrible to provide property tax relief in response to a citizen initiative, calling it a “fecal sandwich”.
Jefferson County, like Arapahoe and Weld, has maintained tax caps for over 30 years due to vigilant citizens rejecting misleading ballot issues, such as 1A in 2019 and 2022. However, this is at risk again with a new version of 1A on the 2024 ballot. This version, like before, uses deceptive language and aims to permanently remove these caps.
The key is to share this information quickly and widely. Remind your friends and networks to vote NO on 1A to preserve the caps. Ballots will arrive around October 14-15.
The recent legislative special session caused by the Citizen’s Tax Cap implemented two key changes:
Jefferson County’s 1A, being set before this date, skirts these new transparency rules.
Governments often use tax dollars for public persuasion campaigns and exploit legal loopholes during election seasons to get away with it. I recently discussed this in an interview with Free State Colorado, which you can watch here.
The past proponents of Jeffco 1A tax hikes even resorted to tainting our local TABOR notice booklet in 2019. The shenanigans didn’t stop there.
Our current county commissioners Andy Kerr, Lesley Dahlkemper, and Tracy Kraft-Tharp, have stepped up the attack on taxpayers’ wallets using a $340,000 taxpayer-funded political strategist, and continue to push their intentionally misleading ballot language to eliminate the caps.
Voters must reject this behavior. Vote NO on Jefferson County 1A to keep tax caps in place.
– Property owners: Vote no to avoid excessively higher property taxes year after year.
– Renters: Rising property taxes will be passed on as rent increases, making housing less affordable.
– Consumers: Higher business property taxes will raise prices for goods and services.
Vote NO on 1A to protect yourself from excessively increasing costs. If you can’t afford more at the grocery store, gas pump, insurance bill, or rent – you sure can’t afford removing property tax caps forever. Even if you can afford excessive taxes, can your neighbor on a fixed income handle it or your grandkids?
If you’d like to find out more information, please join these informative meetings hosted by taxpayer advocacy non-profits:
2024 Election, Elections, Natalie Menten, TABOR, Uncategorized
Menten: Weighing in on local TABOR measures for the 2024 ballot
August 29, 2024 By Natalie Menten
One great, though lesser-known benefit provided in the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) is the local ballot issue notice. This guide is sent by mail at least 30-days before the election to all households with one or more registered voters.
The notice includes details about upcoming local ballot measures that increase taxes, add debt, or suspend TABOR revenue limits. It includes a section where registered voters have the opportunity to submit FOR or AGAINST comments, up to 500 words each.
You should know that there are actually two types of TABOR ballot issue notices. One notice is for the statewide measures and commonly referred to as the “Blue Book.” The notice discussed here is for elections held by local governments such as a city, town, school district, or special taxing district. It’s important to know the difference as you could potentially get more than one of these notices in the mail.
Several years back, it was discovered that out that of some 300 local tax issues throughout the state, only 15 had the taxpayer’s voice printed in a ballot issue notice. That’s only 5 percent! You can make a big difference and amplify your voice by being an author of the next ballot issue notice where you live. Considering that you reach thousands of voters, submitting comments in the TABOR notice costs almost nothing and takes relatively little time and energy.
What follows is an explanation of how to participate in the local ballot issue comment process. As in so much of government bureaucracy, instructions must be followed with no room for alteration. The deadline for this year is Friday, September 20 no later than noon to have your comments included in the local TABOR notice. Continue reading
MEDIA RELEASE
Contact:
Penn Pfiffner
TABOR Committee Chairman
August 8, 2024
Today the TABOR Committee relinquished hope that people would be able to vote on saving their TABOR refunds. “There were simply not enough time and resources to collect the signatures in time for a citizen’s veto,” said Committee Director Rebecca Sopkin, who filed the ballot measure to repeal the 2024 law.
A new law establishes a new income redistribution program using about half of everyone’s TABOR refund.
TABOR was never meant to be an instrument to redistribute income. Tax rates were to be adjusted downward to eliminate any permanent over-collections. Refunds are legally a return of state sales taxes. “The constitution specifically calls for returning over-collected taxes to those who pay the taxes. You can’t tell me that someone making $15,000 a year bought $110,000 of taxable goods,” observed Committee chairman Penn Pfiffner. The State does not impose sales taxes on purchase of housing, food or medicine.
The Committee explained that the income redistribution only happens if there is a TABOR refund and so why, if this program is so important to proponents, did legislators fail to place it under the general fund budget?
The measure, HD24-1311, diverts $684 million in the first year, using planned TABOR refunds to impose again the federal COVID program of subsidies to low-income families with children, but using new taxpayer funds at the state level.
The program will send money to recipients even beyond the taxes that the person pays. Eligible people do not have to be taxpayers. They do not have to be citizens! They do not even have to reside in the state all year!
Legislators are ignoring a very important message by citizens in the landslide vote last fall against Proposition HH. With a roar, they told the government to leave the TABOR rebates alone so that taxes over-collected by the state would be returned to the taxpayers.
During the legislative session just ended, legislators passed and the governor signed a new law that establishes a new income redistribution program.
Your expected TABOR rebate from the state government over-collecting taxes was reduced and got cut nearly in half.
The new law is known as House Bill 1311, which sponsors call the Family Affordability Tax Credit (FATC).
The measure diverts $684 million in the first year, using planned TABOR refunds to give subsidies to low-income families with children.
There are formulas for how households will be treated differently, depending on the age of the child and the amount of income earned by the parent.
How did the General Assembly get away with a costly new program that you did not get to vote on?
After all, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires that voters must approve the retention of taxes above the TABOR limits.
Proponents claim the scheme is a method to return the surplus.
The act creates a new refundable tax credit. Refundable means that the State will rebate to the welfare recipient money above any taxes that person owes.
This is a clear violation, as TABOR is to rebate over-collected taxes to those who paid and should be proportional when identifiable.
Income taxes are clearly identifiable.
There is no reasonable explanation that the State cannot identify who paid how much income tax and how much of a TABOR rebate that taxpayer should get.
The new law, HB1311 says:
The TABOR Committee explored how to overturn HB1311 on this fall’s ballot.
Is there enough interest and funding to reverse the new law?
Action must be taken immediately and the effort is costly.
Arguments against the HB1311 program:
If this program is so important to proponents, then why restrict it to TABOR refund years?
Legislators are ignoring a very important message by citizens in the landslide negative vote last fall against Proposition HH.
With a roar, they told the government to leave the TABOR rebates alone so that taxes over-collected by the state would be returned to the taxpayers.
A philosophic core of the Progressives, who control the current Colorado General Assembly, is the leveling of income.
This bill, HB1311, is a mechanism to redistribute income through the TABOR tax rebates.
We need to overturn this horrendous bill at the ballot box.
Will you join us in trying to do so and restore your TABOR surplus refunds?
#ColoradoRejectedPropHH
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#DontBeFooled
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
#ThankGodForTABOR
June 25, 2024
Contact: Penn Pfiffner
Phone: 303-233-7731
Email: constecon@hotmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) is proposing a 2024 ballot measure to permanently eliminate TABOR spending and revenue caps. The RTD has retained hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer’s TABOR rebates over recent years. Yet, the RTD Board wants to claim this proposed ballot measure isn’t a tax increase.
The TABOR Committee opposes the RTD ballot measure to permanently eliminate taxpayer’s protections.
TABOR Committee, board chairman Penn Pfiffner stated: “The Regional Transportation District (RTD) is one of the largest tax collectors in Colorado. RTD wants to use misleading ballot language to eliminate TABOR rebates. This is clearly a tax increase and a blank check to a government district that has failed to deliver on FasTracks campaign promises. Taxpayers would be best served getting their TABOR rebates starting in 2025 to use on a transportation method that fits their lives.”
The TABOR Committee was formed in 2009 to protect the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).
DefendTABOR.com
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June 16, 2024 3:56 pm ET
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally in support of Freedom to Marry, a ballot measure to remove Proposition 8 from the state Constitution, Friday, June 7, 2024, at Manny’s at 16th and Mission streets in San Francisco. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP) PHOTO: JESSICA CHRISTIAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
We’ve told you about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lawsuit to block a citizen initiative from this November’s ballot that would make it harder to raise taxes. Now his Legislature is trying to sabotage another initiative that would toughen penalties for theft and drug crimes. Why do Democrats fear voters?
Law enforcement, businesses and local elected officials across the Golden State are campaigning to roll back parts of Prop. 47. That’s the 2014 initiative that made misdemeanors of drug possession and theft of less than $950 in goods. Supporters including Mr. Newsom said it would save money by reducing incarceration.
The George Soros-backed initiative cut the state prison count, but Californians are paying a high price. Organized criminals exploit the law’s lax penalties. District attorneys say Prop. 47 prevents them from leveraging the penalty of jail time to induce addicts into treatment. Police often don’t arrest thieves or drug users because the crimes go unpunished. Retail theft, vagrancy and open-air drug use have spiked.
Thus the citizen initiative, which would toughen penalties for shoplifters and drug dealers. Someone with two prior convictions for theft could be charged with a felony on the third offense no matter the amount. The value of stolen property from multiple thefts could be combined for a felony charge. Continue reading
Kevin J. Beaty/DenveriteAn RTD train slowly approaches the Belleview Avenue station in south Denver. June 6, 2024.
The Regional Transportation District will likely add a question to the November 2024 ballot asking voters to permanently allow it to keep revenue that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
An RTD board committee unanimously endorsed the “debrucing” ballot question on Tuesday, a reference to TABOR’s author Douglas Bruce.
RTD’s full board will vote in late June on whether to send the question to voters. The agency currently has two different exemptions from TABOR for different parts of its budget; one expires later this year, the other in 2050. The ballot measure would ask voters to spare RTD’s entire budget from TABOR limits permanently.
Board chair Erik Davidson said if the soon-to-expire exemption were to lapse, RTD might have to refund tens of millions of dollars a year to taxpayers.
He also cited recent polling commissioned by RTD that showed nearly 70 percent support for the ballot measure among respondents.
“To me, it’s an easy answer to say that we proceed,” Davidson told the committee on Tuesday.
The lengthy constitutional amendment voters passed in 1992 also puts restrictions on how much revenue every government in Colorado can collect every year. Any excess revenue beyond a limit set by formulas within TABOR must be refunded to voters. TABOR also contains a “ratchet effect” that can lead to tighter limits and bigger refunds after a recession. Continue reading
The $2.8 billion loss is just less than half of the projected $6 billion in TABOR refunds for the next three years, CSI found in its report following the 2024 Colorado legislative session.
“Legislators focused intensely on TABOR refunds this session,” CSI Mike A. Leprino Fellow Lang Sias said in a statement.
“What started a few years ago,” he said, “has snowballed into what we saw play out during the 2024 session where more than 100 bills redirected TABOR refunds.”
TABOR refunds come from excess state revenue that is sent back to Colorado taxpayers in the next fiscal year.
Over the next three years, Colorado taxpayers will lose $2.8 million in TABOR refunds mostly due to tax cuts, and due to the cost of the bills impacting TABOR, according to CSI’s TABOR refund report.
TABOR refund reductions will increase over the next three years, according to CSI’s report.