Jan
23
Category Archives: Editorial
Jan
14
Murrey: Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds in Democrats’ crosshairs
Last year, Colorado Democrats championed TABOR refunds as they campaigned for reelection. Yet not a week into the 2023 legislative session, they announced plans to try and halt those refunds indefinitely.
A forthcoming bill by Rep. Cathy Kipp (D) and Sen. Rachel Zenzinger (D), if passed by the legislature and approved by voters, would allow the state to retain future tax refund dollars mandated under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) in Colorado’s Constitution. Kipp says the money would go to fund public schools.
Proponents of this idea have failed in the past to gather the 120,000 signatures required to put the question on the November ballot. The legislature can circumvent this requirement by passing the measure as a bill first.
Every time voters speak on key issues related to TABOR, they send the same unambiguous message: “Leave TABOR alone and let us keep our money!”
Democratic legislators either didn’t get the message, or they just don’t care what voters think.
In 2019 after voters gave Democrats unified control over state government, legislators thanked them by sending Proposition CC–which would have permanently ended TABOR refunds–to the November ballot, where Coloradans soundly rejected it.
Coloradans spoke loud and clear: “Leave TABOR alone and let us keep our money!”
In 2020, voters had the choice between two competing citizen-led ballot initiatives. One would have raised taxes and repealed TABOR’s requirement that Colorado maintains the same income tax rate for all taxpayers. The other, put on the ballot by my organization, Independence Institute, reduced the state’s income tax rate from 4.63 to 4.55 percent. The latter passed with a wide margin. The former failed even to gather enough signatures to appear on the ballot.
Once again, Coloradans spoke loud and clear: “Leave TABOR alone and let us keep our money!”
Fast forward to 2022. If the people of Colorado had not made their will clear enough already, last year left no ambiguity.
To continue reading this story, please click (HERE):
Jan
12
Bill Banta’s comments on TABOR’s 30th anniversary, “Colorado Voters Superintend Their Taxes”
Dec
16
Why TABOR Exists
#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#ThankGodForTABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
Dec
13
Support the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR)
#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#ThankGodForTABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
Nov
27
TABOR – Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Protecting You. Protecting Colorado
#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#ThankGodForTABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
Nov
15
TABOR’s multiple anniversary dates
TABOR’s multiple anniversary dates
November 3, 1992 passed by voters.
November 4, 1992 effective date for section (4) Required Elections
December 31, 1992 effective date for remainder
January 14, 1993 – Gov Roy Romer signed the resolution.
Nov
13
30 Years Later, Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights Has Been Decimated
Nov
13
TABOR Turns 30: Thirty Years of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights
This month marks the 30th anniversary of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which was approved by voters in November of 1992 as a constitutional tax and expenditure limit (TEL). TABOR is considered the gold standard of state fiscal rules because it limits the growth of most of Colorado’s spending and revenue to inflation plus population. If the state government collects more tax dollars than TABOR allows, the money is returned to taxpayers as a TABOR refund. The receipt of tax rebates, totaling $8.2 billion since TABOR passed in 1992, has strengthened Colorado citizens’ confidence in the TABOR Amendment over the years. To learn more about TABOR and effective TELs, read our latest report and visit FiscalRules.org.
Nov
12
Did You Know This Is In The 2022 Colorado Democrats Platform?
No wonder they have “Tax and Spend,” “Spend and Tax” agenda.
They don’t like being constrained.
No wonder we don’t like their policies.
They try to undermine TABOR at every instance.
They now call them “fees” instead of “taxes,” or categorize them as “enterprises” to skirt TABOR.
They believe that “your” money is “their money.”
If you don’t believe us, here’s a screenshot of page 9 of their 2022 platform: 
Pay attention, Colorado, pay attention….