Jan
18
Category Archives: Fiscal Policy
Dec
27
Important questions about TABOR and their answers, part one
Colorado’s unique tax law — the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR — will likely become a point of conversation and contention during much of 2016 in both the legislative session and at the ballot box.
Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget request attributed some of the need for millions of dollars in cuts to the constitutional amendment that is seen by some as too restrictive a way to govern Colorado’s spending.
Movement is already afoot to make change. As an example, a nonpartisan group of state leaders called Building a Better Colorado has been traveling Colorado this year to find consensus on a possible ballot initiative in November to change parts of TABOR.
In addition, state Democrat lawmakers have said they plan to bring back last year’s failed hospital provider fee bill, a potential work-around TABOR to create wiggle room in the state’s budget. The hospital provider fee, which is assessed on hospitals to help pay for indigent health care, has raised so much money that it has bolstered state budgets past TABOR limits, requiring the state to issue taxpayer refunds. Continue reading
Dec
23
Economic Freedom of North America 2015
Here is the newly released Fraser Institute study (attached) titled Economic Freedom of North America 2015. In the event that you can’t open the attachment, you can find the report here: http://www.freetheworld.com/2015/efna/economic-freedom-of-north-america-2015-us-edition.pdf. It examines the freedom rankings by state based upon government spending, tax policy, and labor market freedoms. It reflects data through 2013. The lead investigator (Dean Stansel) is a Ph.D. economist (educated at George Mason University) and former Cato Institute research analyst. He is currently a Research Associate Professor at the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian public policy think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and libertarian. The Institute is headquartered in Vancouver and ties to a global network of 80 think-tanks through the Economic Freedom Network. According to the 2014 Global think tank index report, Fraser is number 23 (of 100) in the “Top Think Tanks Worldwide (non-U.S.), number 19 (of 150) in the “Top Think Tanks Worldwide (U.S. and non-U.S.) and number 1 (of 30) in the “Top Think Tanks in Mexico and Canada”.
You should be encouraged in our fight to preserve TABOR. The data (Table 3.2c on page 37) shows that, as of 2013 (the last data set available) Colorado is tied for 9th in economic freedom within the 50 United States. In amount of government spending, CO ranks 12th (behind, FL, ID, KS, MO, NE, NH, OK, SD, TX, and VA). We don’t fare as well in taxes as CO ranks 19th behind AL, AK, AZ, FL, LA, MI, MO, MT, NV, NH, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, and WY. Labor market freedoms finds CO ranked 12th behind FL, GA, MD, MA, NH, ND, PA, SD, TN, TX, and VA. According to the report, CO should learn something about freedoms from New Hampshire (ranked alone as #1 whose motto is “Live Free or Die) as well as FL, MO, NE, SD, TN, TX, and VA.
Nov
26
Milton Friedman’s Advice
Sep
30
Understanding the Difference between Taxes and Fees
March 28, 2013
Washington, DC, March 28, 2013—In a new Background Paper released this week by the Tax Foundation, How Is the Money Used? Federal and State Cases Distinguishing Taxes and Fees examines state-by-state what a tax is, what a fee is, and how public understanding of the difference between the two can strengthen taxpayer protection provisions, minimize distortions caused by hidden or mislabeled taxes, and help increase transparency of the cost of government programs.
“A tax has the primary purpose of raising revenue,” said Joseph Henchman, Tax Foundation Vice President of Legal Projects, and author of the exhaustive study. “By contrast, a fee recoups the cost of providing a service from a beneficiary.”
“This is not just a matter of semantics,” Henchman added. “In order to protect taxpayers, many state constitutions contain additional procedural steps and limitations that apply only to tax increases. These protective measures can be undermined if the legislature can circumvent them by merely relabeling what would otherwise be a tax, so a workable definition of ‘tax’ is necessary to give them meaning.”
The report finds that all but two states (North Carolina and Oregon) have adopted these definitions, with Ohio as the most recent addition. The report also reviews which states rule in favor of taxpayers when tax laws are ambiguously worded, and which states have rejected the discredited notion that taxes are “mandatory” charges while fees are “voluntary” charges.
“With April 15th arriving soon, taxes will be on the collective minds of our nation,” said Tax Foundation President Scott A. Hodge. “As taxpayers sign over checks to the government, an understanding of what the word ‘tax’ means is of upmost importance.”
Tax Foundation Background Paper No. 63, “How Is the Money Used? Federal and State Cases Distinguishing Taxes and Fees” by Joseph Henchman is available here.
The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937. To schedule an interview, please contact Richard Morrison, the Tax Foundation’s Manager of Communications, at 202-464-5102 or morrison@taxfoundation.org.
http://taxfoundation.org/article/understanding-difference-between-taxes-and-fees
Sep
22
Strong conservatives wary of weakening TABOR for “Better Colorado”
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Sep
02
CSU study finds 80 percent of Colorado taxpayers pay more because of TABOR
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights was supposed to keep money in people’s pockets, but 80 percent of Coloradans actually pay more in taxes to supplement their local schools, according to a study released Tuesday by the Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University.
“Since the early 1990s, Colorado has enacted layers of reform in pursuit of two conflicting goals – lower property taxes and well-funded public schools,” said Phyllis Resnick, lead economist at the center and lead author of a paper the research for the nonpartisan Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, “Measuring the Impact of Tax and Expenditure Limits on Public School Finance in Colorado.”The Lincoln Institute is a private think tank that studies land taxes and use.
“The result is greater inequality and inconsistency, and surprisingly, a greater tax burden for most Coloradans.”
To read the rest of this article, click the following link:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2015/09/01/csu-study-finds-80-percent-of-colorado-taxpayers-pay-more-because-of-tabor/122792/
Sep
02
Carroll: Averting a Colorado budget smashup
Why don’t we save the esteemed Dan Ritchie and his bipartisan group of civic-minded bigwigs a lot of time and trouble?
The former chancellor at the University of Denver and his allies who’ve founded Building a Better Colorado are going to spend months in meetings and outreach trying to identify measures for next year’s ballot to address the unique challenges in governing this state.
They’ve got former governors, senators and mayors on board, not to mention current Gov. John Hickenlooper.
To read the rest of this article, click the following link:
http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_28720814/carroll-averting-colorado-budget-smashup
Apr
28
Upcoming problems that we can expect for TABOR from the problems of PERA
Apr
26
As session wraps up, major work remains for Colorado lawmakers
Colorado lawmakers begin a mad dash to the finish next week with more than a dozen significant bills in limbo and the session’s clock set to expire.
The final flurry before the May 6 adjournment is typical each session, but this year it is complicated by a divided legislature seeking elusive common ground on a wide range of issues and a series of late bills with huge implications.
The new bills include a repeal of the sales tax on soft drinks, a new$3.5 billion transportation bonds package, two resolutions to cut the length of the legislative session, an opt-out for mail ballots, the renewal of a state consumer watchdog and a ballot measure on how to spend $58 million of marijuana taxes.
To read the rest of this article, click the following link: