Category Archives: Ballot Initiative

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?

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):

Jan 02

Income tax rates decreasing in Colorado in 2020 as TABOR Refunds kick in

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DENVER — It’s official. Coloradans will be giving less to Colorado state government in 2020.

Governor Polis made the announcement official in an oped this morning with The Colorado Sun. 

Income tax rates will be decreasing from a flat 4.63% to 4.5%.

The decrease was mandated by the Colorado State Constitution and the Taxpayer Bills of Rights (TABOR) which limits how much government can grow each year.

Passed in 1992, this is the first year TABOR has triggered cuts. As opposed to sending checks to taxpayers, income tax rates will be cut instead.

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):

Dec 31

For the first time, TABOR triggers an income tax rate cut. Here’s how much you can save on 2019 taxes.

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Colorado will temporarily lower the income tax rate to 4.5% — a move Gov. Jared Polis is celebrating despite concerns from his party

Colorado is poised to return $428.3 million to taxpayers this year, but don’t look for a refund check in the mail.

The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights mandates the rebate because the state exceeded the revenue limits in the 2018-19 fiscal year. The TABOR excess is so great it will force the state for the first time to temporarily reduce the income tax rate.

The automated rate cut is being celebrated by Gov. Jared Polis — even though he supported an unsuccessful ballot measure to end TABOR refunds in the future.

The new temporary rate for calculating 2019 state taxes is 4.5%, a decrease from the standard 4.63% flat income tax rate. And how much people will save varies widely depending on their income level.

For those who make up to $40,000 to $85,000 in adjusted gross income, the average tax break ranges from $58 for single filers to $31 for joint filers, according to a legislative analysis. And for those who make $226,000 or more, it will top $600.

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):

Dec 27

Any TABOR measure needs to say what it is

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Any TABOR measure needs to say what it is

By THE DAILY SENTINEL

If we asked readers to give us their honest feedback about Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, we doubt we’d get any. Who, besides lawmakers or legislative staff, could even hazard a guess as to what issue that part of the Constitution addresses?

But if we asked readers to give us their honest feedback about the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, that’s a different story. Even if you didn’t have a firm position on whether it affects the state’s ability to deliver government services, you’d at least be familiar with the general subject matter.

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):

Dec 26

Group restarts tax fight, files 35 ideas for Colorado ballot

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Ballot proposals would move the state back toward a graduated tax
By Brian Eason The Colorado Sun

Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019 12:25 PM
Lawmakers meet in the Colorado House of Representatives on May 1.

Jesse Paul/The Colorado Sun

Dec 26

Slower economic growth, higher TABOR refunds projected in government forecasts

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FILE - Colorado State Capitol
Clouds build over the state Capitol in downtown Denver.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Two forecasts for Colorado’s economy cite continued growth in the state, but noted a tight labor market would cause that growth to be muted in the coming years.

The state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee has received forecasts from the Legislative Council Staff and the Office of State Planning and Budget.

The forecasts estimate that taxpayers will see refunds granted by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), as the state collects revenue above the state spending cap.

In a statement, House Democrats said the spending caps “limit the state’s ability to invest in critical priorities, such as education and transportation.”

The Legislative Council staff forecast said the state can expect to see economic activity expand as job growth and rising wages continue.

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):

Dec 23

The tax fight continues in Colorado as liberal group files 35 more ideas for the 2020 ballot

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Voters cast their ballots at downtown Denver’s Bannock Street polling location on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2019. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

The proposed ballot initiatives would move the state back toward a graduated, or progressive, tax system that would mean higher taxes for the wealthy

With the November defeat of Proposition CC, the score has become so lopsided in favor of fiscal conservatives, the outcome of any given skirmish over the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is starting to feel like a foregone conclusion.

But to Democrats and aligned interest groups, the losing streak at the ballot box when it comes to tax hikes for schools, roads and higher education just means they haven’t found the right game plan.

“What I took away from Prop. CC was that was not the solution,” says Carol Hedges of the Colorado Fiscal Institute, a liberal tax policy group. “That solution didn’t address the concerns of the folks who voted in that election, and we have an obligation to solve these problems.”

So barely a month after voters defeated the measure to eliminate the state’s spending cap, Hedges’ organization is back on the offensive, introducing an eye-popping 35 new tax-related ballot initiatives for 2020. The specifics vary from proposal to proposal, but a single theme unites them: creating what the left views as a more equitable tax code that requires the wealthy to pay more to fund public services.

To read the rest of this article, please click (HERE):

Dec 17

Happy New Year From Your Colorado TABOR Foundation!

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By a vote of 55% to 45%, you helped defeat Prop CC to remove TABOR spending limits, but they’re at it again.

Anti-TABOR activists are already testing ballot language for a 2020 initiative to unwind your Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. With a high Democratic voter turnout, they see next year’s election as their chance to amend the State Constitution to give government taxing authority without a vote of the people.

The TABOR Foundation educates voters on how the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights protects their livelihood and why it matters to their family’s future.

We give seminars, media interviews, social media updates, and we’re a primary contact for citizens asking for help when their local jurisdictions violate TABOR mandates.  Importantly, we engage in legal action to protect TABOR.

Defending freedom costs time – and money. We need more help. What can you do to help us?

Please send your donation of $50, $100, $150 or more. Checks payable to TABOR Foundation, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, may be tax deductible as allowed by law.

And, we welcome your service with our Board of Directors, Speakers Bureau, or in some other capacity.  Please call me to talk about being more involved.  Thanks!

 

Sincerely,

Penn R. Pfiffner
Chairman
303-233-7731

TABOR Foundation
720 Kipling St.
Lakewood, CO 80215
www.thetaborfoundation.org 

Dec 12

In Two Blue States, Voters Back Democrats, But Show a Wariness Toward Taxes

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A lawn sign urges voters to oppose Proposition CC, which would have relaxed a Colorado law that restricts the state's taxing power. Voters rejected the measure in November.

A lawn sign urges voters to oppose Proposition CC, which would have relaxed a Colorado law that restricts the state’s taxing power. Voters rejected the measure in November. AP PHOTO/DAVID ZALUBOWSKI

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In Colorado and Washington, residents this fall voted to either constrain state tax revenues or cut fees, even as Democratic lawmakers argue the money is needed to support education and transportation programs.

Colorado voters during the past two elections have made clear that while they’re willing to back Democratic candidates, they’re reluctant to give them greater taxing power to help carry out their agendas.

That’s even as progressives argue that funding is falling short in areas like education and transportation. Last month, Coloradans kept up the pattern, rejecting a ballot measure that would have relaxed limits on the amount of tax collections that the state government can keep.

Further west, residents in another left-leaning state, Washington, also voted in November to crimp government revenues. Voters approved a ballot initiative to cap the cost of vehicle registration fees, or “car tabs,” which help pay for transit and other transportation programs.

“I think you could say it’s an anti-tax vote, clearly,” said Rep. Jake Fey, a Tacoma-area Democrat who chairs the Washington state House Transportation Committee.

In both places, the election results show how there can be limits to the appetite people have for paying more money for public services and infrastructure—even when a majority of a state’s voters are willing to support Democrats who tend to embrace more progressive platforms, which often involve bigger government.

The measures also highlight the complications and uncertainty that can arise when making tax policy at the ballot box, as well as some unique facets of each state’s tax structure.

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):

Dec 11

$10 million poured into 2019 election, but big money couldn’t push Proposition CC to passage

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A look at the final campaign cash reports shows plenty of dark money on Proposition CC and two major players betting big on Proposition DD.

Sandra Fish

Special to The Colorado Sun

cates for Proposition CC outspent the opposition by more than double but still lost in the statewide November election.

The two campaign committees behind the ballot question — Coloradans for Prosperity and Great Education Colorado — spent a combined $4.5 million on the failed effort, according to final campaign finance reports filed late last week.

Colorado voters  54% to 46% to reject Prop. CC, which would have ended the tax revenue caps in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

The measure’s opponents spent at least $1.8 million, most of it from dark money organizations that didn’t disclose the source of the campaign cash.

All told, the five issue committees spent more than $10 million in the 2019 election on the two statewide ballot initiatives. About $3.8 million of that spending backed the successful Proposition DD measure to legalize sports gambling.

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE):