Category Archives: Fiscal Policy

Apr 17

TABOR exemption question to be on fall ballot

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Vote NO on this attack on your Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights

TABOR exemption question to be on fall ballot

  • CHARLES ASHBY
Voters would be asked this fall if the state should be able to retain surplus revenue over what the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights allows under a bill that won final approval in the Colorado House on Tuesday.

Under House Bill 1257 and a companion measure, HB1258, all of the taxes and fees the state collects over the revenue cap under TABOR would be evenly divided between transportation, public schools and higher education.

TABOR limits growth in revenue collections year over year based on inflation and population growth.

“In the last 27 years since TABOR was voted into the Constitution, our state population has increased by 50 percent,” said House Speaker KC Becker, D-Boulder, who introduced the bill with Rep. Julie McCluskie, a Democrat whose district includes the eastern half of Delta County.

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Apr 17

Last-Ditch Effort To Jump-Start Colorado Sports Betting Afoot In Legislature

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Last-Ditch Effort To Jump-Start Colorado Sports Betting Afoot In Legislature

Eric Ramsey Updated on Apr 16, 2019 12:06 PDT

Colorado sports betting

It’s been nearly a year since Colorado lawmakers first discussed the possibility of legal sports betting in public, and the time for action has come.

This week, casino operators had the chance to offer feedback on preliminary language for a new CO sports betting bill. Reviewed by Legal Sports Report, the draft being circulated includes provisions for both physical sportsbooks and statewide mobile betting under a manageable tax structure.

Considering the bill has yet to be introduced, however, time is running a bit tight. The legislature adjourns for the year on May 3.

Colorado sports betting bill draft

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Apr 17

Colorado House passes plan asking voters to give up their TABOR-driven taxpayer refunds

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Editor’s note: Don’t just vote NO but vote HELL NO on this….

Colorado House passes plan asking voters to give up their TABOR-driven taxpayer refunds

Colorado House votes on TABOR referendum bill
Image courtesy of The Colorado Channel
The Colorado House on Tuesday passed two bills that would ask voters if the state could keep their taxpayer refunds provided by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), sending the bills to the Senate for consideration.

House Bill 1257 is a referendum asking voters to allow the state to keep and spend excess revenues that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers. If approved, the referendum would be on the November ballot.

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Apr 09

Colorado Democrats look to pass more progressive legislation with four weeks left in session

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Colorado Democrats look to pass more progressive legislation with four weeks left in session

FILE - Colorado State Capitol
The Colorado State Capitol in Denver, Colorado.

Shutterstock photo

With four weeks left in Colorado’s legislative session, Democrats in the legislature hope to pass several more pieces of key progressive legislation. 

The Democratic-controlled legislature has had little trouble passing several controversial bills, leading to Republicans and grassroots groups calling for voters to recall some of the lawmakers behind the pieces of legislation that opponents say don’t represent the views of citizens.

Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly, and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis supports a vast majority of legislation Democratic lawmakers have passed or plan on passing.

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Apr 09

BRITAIN ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE WHERE ELITES TRY TO UNDO BALLOT MEASURES

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NATELSON: BRITAIN ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE WHERE ELITES TRY TO UNDO BALLOT MEASURES

Robert Natelson | Senior Fellow, Independence Institute

When British citizens voted to leave the European Union, I doubted the British political establishment would allow that decision to stand. Today that establishment is doing everything it can to undermine the Brexit referendum.

Such conduct is not limited to Britain. In the United States also, government officials have a long history of sabotaging ballot measures they don’t like.

Similarly, in 2015 SCOTUS reversed 30 statewide votes reaffirming — generally by landslide margins — the traditional definition of marriage.

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Apr 08

This is now the best state for job seekers

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Colorado Rising Action@CORisingAction
 
Colorado makes #1 on another list as best state to find a job. Our state’s economy is so strong thanks in large part to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (#TABOR) which Democrats are working to dismantle.

This is now the best state for job seekers

By Jade Scipioni

But according to a new study, that’s not really the case.

Personal finance website GoBankingRates.com found that some states are actually flourishing more than others when it comes to job creation.

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Feb 28

State finances are enjoying flush times and some states are sending that bounty back to taxpayers.

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Some States, Flush With Cash, Are Sending Money to Taxpayers

Ten years after the recession, many states have revenue surpluses and plan to boost spending or cut taxes

State finances are enjoying flush times and some states are sending that bounty back to taxpayers.
 
Arkansas this month lowered its top personal income-tax rate by 1 percentage point to 5.9% and South Carolina has proposed an income tax rebate to all residents who file returns. In Florida, the governor has proposed lowering property and sales taxes. The givebacks come even as all three states proposed increased spending on education and other priorities.
 
Ten years after the recession, many states have the choice of what to spend revenues on rather than what programs to cut. The National Conference of State Legislatures found in a fall survey that 48 states expected to meet or exceed their revenue expectations.
 
“States have come off of a strong last fiscal year, and the economy is strong so they’re expecting it to continue,” said Kim Rueben, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. “It could mean more spending or cutting taxes.”

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