Category Archives: Ballot Initiative

Jan 16

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

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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.

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Jan 16

Colorado progressives have a new target in their pursuit of a tax overhaul: the rich. Here’s why:

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A host of proposed ballot measures for 2020 and proposals at the state Capitol are putting Colorado’s uneven tax system in the spotlight

The Colorado tax code, it pays to be rich and it’s expensive to be poor.

For decades now, that’s been the stark takeaway buried inside the 286-page report on Colorado’s tax system the state Department of Revenue releases every two years: The less you make, the more you spend on taxes, as a percentage of your income.

But despite growing public frustration over income inequality and the state’s rising cost of living, the tax disparities apparent in Colorado’s law have drawn little political attention.

That is, until now. After years of defeats at the ballot box, progressive advocates believe they’ve landed on a tax plan that can resonate with Colorado voters: making the rich pick up more of the bill.

The Colorado Fiscal Institute in December introduced 35 possible ballot proposals that would advance the idea and ask voters to re-establish a graduated income tax in the state for the first time in more than 30 years. Structured like the federal income tax, graduated or progressive state tax brackets would levy higher tax rates based on how much money residents make.

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Jan 13

Coming This Spring: TABOR-Triggered Income Tax Relief in Colorado

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Tax Foundation@taxfoundation
 
A pleasant surprise awaits Coloradans when they file their taxes this spring: a reduced tax rate of 4.5 percent will apply to income earned in 2019

January 6, 2020

Katherine Loughead

A pleasant surprise awaits Coloradans when they file their taxes this spring: a reduced tax rate of 4.5 percent (rather than the usual flat rate of 4.63 percent) will apply to income earned in 2019. This temporary income tax rate reduction, which will be enjoyed by individuals, pass-through businesses, and corporations alike, was triggered because state tax collections exceeded the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) revenue limit by $428 million in fiscal year (FY) 2019.

TABOR, enshrined in the state constitution since it was approved by voters in 1992 (but amended by a an increased “Referendum C” cap in 2005), places an annual limit on state revenue growth, capping it at the prior year level after adjusting for inflation, population growth, and any voter-approved revenue changes. Any collections above that limit, by default, are returned to taxpayers unless a majority of voters authorize the state to retain the surplus.

The Colorado Constitution does not prescribe specific refund mechanisms but instead authorizes the General Assembly to make those determinations. Under current law, TABOR surpluses can be returned to taxpayers using up to three refund mechanisms: a property tax exemption reimbursement to local governments, a “sales tax refund,” and a temporary reduction in the state’s income tax rate. The income tax rate reduction is the most difficult to trigger since it requires the largest amount of revenue.

Jan 10

The Arrogant Hyposcrisy of COSenDems and YOUR Taxpayer Dollars

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We can’t believe Colorado elected liberals. Keep in mind they’re the ones wasting taxpayer money (that’s your money, not theirs) & they won’t rebuild your roads and bridges

 

Excuse me but you sure sound like hypocrites
So are you following the will of the voters or not?

Prop 112 fails as voters say no to larger setbacks for oil and gas

DENVER, COLORADO – NOVEMBER 6: Suzanne Spiegel, a proponent of Proposition 112, center, and Tez Diaz, right, hug as they gather together with other organizers of Proposition 112 to concede defeat during the watch party for supporters for Proposition 112 at Big Trouble Restaurant inside Zeppelin Station on November 6, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Colorado voters defeated their measure that would have created larger setbacks for oil and gas. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

http://www.denverpost.com/…/colorado-proposition-112…/

And don’t forget what Colorado voters also said…

Colorado Prop CC: Effort to end TABOR refunds fails

DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 05: Proposition CC opponents from left to right, Maggie Lit, Independence Institute and Josh Williams, Independence Institute, Ansley Bradwell, Libre Initiative and Lorenz Isidro, Americans for Prosperity celebrate the their victory at during an opposition watch party at the Great Northern restaurant, election night November 05, 2019. Proposition CC would have allowed the state to permanently keep all the money it collects above the state revenue limit and spend it on public schools, higher, education, roads, bridges, and transit. The opposition wanted the state to continue issuing refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) when the state collects revenue in excess of the state’s annual revenue limit. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

http://www.denverpost.com/…/proposition-cc-tabor…/

This proves our point that your party doesn’t care about spending other people’s money and views it as theirs.
Your priorities and morals are completely WRONG!
SMH at the utter hypocrisy of #CoSenDem
#TABOR
#ItsOurMoneyNotYours
#LiveWithinYourBudget

Another arrogant attempt to waste more taxpayer money by @COSenDems

Jan 08

IN RESPONSE | Pols trample on TABOR; let’s demand our petition rights

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Douglas Bruce

Re: “Colorado must draw a line between ‘tax’ and ‘fee,’ ” Jan. 6.

As TABOR’s author, I fought many traps our foes set for us. We went down their rabbit trail of theoretical debates … twice.

The 1988 TABOR covered “fees” that yearly increase above inflation. Foes used examples like library card fees increasing 10%, which may be a quarter. “We can’t vote all the time” on trivial sums.

The 1990 fight allowed increases rounded up to the next dollar. Same result. We can’t set a limit — say, $50 million — on a fee increase; they will simply increase 50 fees $40 million each. They will also increase licenses, permits, etc.

In 1992, we switched “fee v. tax ” details for revenue spending limits. The Establishment took OUR bait. The issue was our right to vote at all, and we won. Set the agenda and frame the issue, and you win the debate.

Our foes then violated TABOR for 28 years, by saying road and bridge “fees” are for “enterprises,” though they clearly violate the definition. Ditto hospital provider fees, the Dirty Dozen in 2009, and dozens more.

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Jan 07

Lawmakers Agree Colorado’s Roads Need More TLC. They Definitely Don’t Agree On How To Pay For It

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By Nathaniel Minor January 6, 2020

Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsInterstate 70 Traffic in Mt. Vernon Canyon Friday Aug. 9, 2019

Lawmakers appear to have bipartisan agreement at the state Capitol that Colorado’s transportation system needs a serious infusion of money.

But with the 2020 session poised to kick off later this week, both sides are still far apart about where that should come from: new revenue, or reprioritizing the existing budget.

“I can absolutely tell you, 100 percent, we will not be able to meet our transportation needs without new funding sources,” House Speaker K.C. Becker said Monday at a legislative preview breakfast sponsored by Commuting Solutions, a Louisville, Colorado-based group that advocates for multi-modal transportation.

The group supported the last few attempts to raise new revenue — including 2018’s sales tax-raising Proposition 110 and 2019’s Proposition CC, which would have redirected taxpayer refunds to roads and schools. Voters rejected both of them.

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Jan 03

Best And Worst Policy Developments Of 2019

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Best And Worst Policy Developments Of 2019

Daniel J. Mitchell
Daniel J. Mitchell
|
Posted: Jan 02, 2020 8:50 AM
Best And Worst Policy Developments Of 2019

Source: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

’m trying to be a glass-half-full kind of guy, so we’ll start with the best policy developments for 2019.
Boris Johnson’s landslide victory – I was in London for the recent U.K. election and was pleasantly surprised when Boris Johnson won a surprising landslide. That’s not a policy development, of course, but it’s first on my list because it presumably will lead to a genuine Brexit. And when the United Kingdom escapes the sinking ship of the dirigiste European Union, I have some hopes for pro-market policies.

TABOR wins in Colorado – Without question, the best fiscal system for a jurisdiction is a spending cap that fulfills my Golden Rule. Colorado’s constitution has such a policy, known as TABOR (the Taxpayer Bill of Rights). Pro-spending lobbies put an initiative on the ballot to eviscerate the provision, but voters wisely rejected the measure this past November by a nearly 10-point margin.

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Jan 02

SLOAN | To tone-deaf tax hikers, ‘no’ translates to try, try again

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This year’s defeat of Proposition CC was a bitter experience for the state’s Democrats and liberal groups, but apparently not a didactic one, at least for the latter. Proposals are already in the works for some new iterations of the ubiquitous tax-increase ballot measures which crop up every second election or so, just to see if perseverance will ultimately win out over fiscal literacy.

Most of the proposals are conjured up by groups like the leftist Colorado Fiscal Institute, which houses some presumably very bright people whose economic analysis nevertheless boils down invariably to tugging on the General Assembly’s sleeve and pointing at someone else’s wallet.

Carol Hedges, executive director of CFI, said in an interview in some other publication that “what I took away from Prop. CC was that was not the solution.” Clearly. She goes on to say “that solution didn’t address the concerns of folks who voted in the election, and we have an obligation to solve those problems.”

What problems are those, exactly?

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