Category Archives: Colorado Legislature

Mar 02

What DOGE can learn from the states

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March 1, 2025

What DOGE can learn from the states

By Barry W. Poulson

The Department of Government efficiency (DOGE) faces many challenges in downsizing the federal government.  The cuts in federal government programs proposed by DOGE have made headlines, but this approach to fiscal responsibility suffers from some blind spots.  The federal government could learn much from the states in restoring sustainable fiscal policies.

One flaw is that DOGE will not address reforms in Social Security, Medicare, and other health care programs.  These entitlement programs account for almost half of the federal budget and are growing at an unsustainable rate.  Over the next decade, the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare will be exhausted.  The most important lesson from the states is that budget constraints must apply to all programs, including entitlements.  In recent decades, state expenditures for public employee pensions and health care programs were growing at an unsustainable rate.  Most states responded to this challenge by reforming these programs to ensure their sustainability in the long term.

There is some ambiguity regarding the savings generated from DOGE reforms.  Perhaps the worst idea is to simply return these savings to the budget in the following year; the states that have done this have had little success in constraining spending.  Some have suggested that the savings generated by DOGE be offset by tax rebates, and some states have done this.  However, the federal government now faces a debt crisis.  The federal debt is now at $36 trillion and is projected to grow to more than double our national income by mid-century.  There is almost universal agreement among economists that this growth in federal debt is not sustainable.  The highest priority should be in stabilizing and reducing federal debt in coming decades, which means that any savings generated by DOGE, or from other reforms, should be earmarked for debt reduction.

To continue reading this article, please click (HERE) to go to The American Thinker website:

 

Feb 20

TABOR = TAxpayer’s Bill Of Rights

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70%+ of Coloradans support TABOR.

What TABOR stands for:

 

 

 

 

 

What one political party in Colorado is trying to wrongfully change it to, according to our TABOR friend, Representative Ryan Gonzalez:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Representative Ryan Gonzalez (@RyanGonzalezCO) / X

 

 

Feb 16

A New Property Tax Revolt

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February 15, 2025

A New Property Tax Revolt

By Barry W. Poulson

It has been half a century since Howard Jarvis launched the first property tax revolt with Prop 13 in California. Since then, forty-six states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of property tax limitation. Some of these measures have proven to be effective, but others are poorly designed and ineffective.

It is not surprising that a new property tax revolt has been launched. Many property owners had sticker shock this year when they got their property tax bills. I am one of the unfortunate sods in Colorado who have seen the property tax on their homes more than double in recent years. Many less fortunate souls on fixed incomes have literally been taxed out of their homes.

The explanation for the discontinuous increase in property taxes today is the same as that during the first property tax revolt in the 1970s. In those years double-digit inflation was accompanied by discontinuous increases in property taxes. Inflation rates recently peaked at 9 percent and have remained well above the target inflation rates set by the Federal Reserve. Increased housing costs are one of the major contributors to this higher rate of inflation. Higher home prices today also reflect the expensive and time-consuming regulations imposed by state and local governments on home construction.

Even in a state such as Colorado, with an effective tax and expenditure limit, homeowners have not been protected from the ravages of inflation. Colorado has experienced one of the highest rates of increase in home prices in the nation. Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits the amount of property tax revenue that local governments can keep and spend. TABOR also requires voter approval for any new tax or increase in tax rates; but it does not cap the amount of property taxes that individual homeowners must pay. TABOR has not shielded homeowners from increased property taxes due to rising property values and other state and local measures designed to increase collections. The Colorado Legislature will hold a special session this year to address the problem of higher property tax burdens.

Click (HERE) to continue reading this story.

 

Jan 28

Coloradans must opt in for TABOR refunds when filing taxes

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DENVER (KDVR) — Monday marked the first day the IRS could start accepting and processing your tax return.

Colorado filers need to keep an eye out for one key step to make sure they get all the money they are eligible for back in their wallets.

Coloradans are set to get TABOR refunds after they file their taxes this year, but the state is reminding residents that they have to opt in.

The Colorado Department of Revenue is hoping to help taxpayers make sure they get as much money back as they can when they file their taxes this year.

“Unfortunately, if you didn’t check that box for your taxes you filed in 2024 for tax year 2023, you did miss out on your tabor refund,” said Elisabeth Kosar, communications director for the Colorado Department of Revenue. “TABOR is something you need to opt into so please, please check that box or again have whoever is preparing your taxes check that box.” Continue reading →

Jan 20

Herman: Colorado’s over-spending problem explained

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Herman: Colorado’s over-spending problem explained

January 19, 2025 By Nash Herman

Colorado legislators are discovering first-hand the impossibility of having their cake and eating it too.

The Joint Budget Committee continues to meet with dozens of departments to reconcile an approximately $750 million budget shortfall in 2025, with some absurdly claiming that deficit is purely a result of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) at work.

Granted, it does sounds bizarre that the state must make budget cuts in a year that it is still expected to collect a surplus of revenue beyond what is allowed by TABOR. But by looking at the facts, anyone can come to see how the so-called budget “crisis” is actually a self-inflicted wound from the legislature’s relentless over-spending.

Having their cake 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Colorado received a windfall of federal funds to prop up the state economy and boost recovery.  To fund that massive stimulus, the federal government printed money, causing an increased supply of dollars chasing the same number of goods.  This in turn lead to the dollar being worth less, also known as inflation. Continue reading →

Jan 09

Gonzalez: Colorado’s TABOR Amendment serving taxpayers well

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Gonzalez: Colorado’s TABOR Amendment serving taxpayers well

January 7, 2025 By Rep. Ryan Gonzalez

In 1992, Colorado voters passed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, the nation’s strongest tax limitation law to this day. For those who are unfamiliar what TABOR really does, this amendment to the Colorado Constitution allows government spending to reasonably increase using a formula of population growth plus inflation. Excess revenue, known as the “TABOR surplus,” must be refunded to taxpayers. If state government wants to keep the surplus, or raise taxes, voters must approve. That is exactly why progressives abhor TABOR. But the truth is, a little north of 60% of Colorado voters approve of TABOR.

Many progressives have made their disdain for TABOR be known, having tried time and time again to chip away at TABOR’s taxpayer protections. And in many ways, they’ve done so; mostly by adding tax credits which pull from the TABOR surplus. They’ve done so by giving everyone equal tax refunds and redistributing wealth; taking from those who paid the most in state taxes and giving more to those who paid little.

In 2022, the Democrat majority, just before a critical midterm election, gave taxpayers what they called the “Colorado cash back” in disguise as a “stimulus” check. What they didn’t tell you is that it was actually your TABOR refund, just early and proportioned against historical distribution. Continue reading →