Category Archives: Proposition 117

Nov 25

Perspective: Taxes — by another name

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Perspective: Taxes — by another name

  • By Lang Sias

Since 2018, Colorado taxpayers have benefited from two reductions to the state income tax that together have brought the rate from 4.63% to 4.4%, for an aggregate reduction of 0.23%. These reductions have been much heralded by state government leaders and have elicited approving comments from a wide range of observers.

The applause for these tax cuts, however, has obscured a separate tactic that state leaders increasingly have used to extract revenue from Coloradans in amounts that dwarf the income tax reductions. During the last two decades, Coloradans have seen a steady increase in the fees paid to a wide range of state enterprises. The pattern has accelerated dramatically since 2018.

According to a recent Common Sense Institute study, fee-based revenue to enterprises has increased since 2018 by an amount equivalent to a 0.51% increase in the state income tax — so, more than double the recent tax cuts. If Colorado’s fee enterprises, minus higher education, were instead funded by the state income tax, the state income tax would increase to 7.68%, a 75% increase over the current rate of 4.4%.

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Jul 30

EDITORIAL: Salute our state’s constitution this Colorado Day

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EDITORIAL: Salute our state’s constitution this Colorado Day

  • The Gazette editorial board

On Thursday, the state of Colorado turns 148 — and Coloradans no doubt can think of many good reasons to celebrate.

Among them of course are the Centennial State’s unmatched natural wonders. There’s also the state’s exquisite climate; its vast, wide-open spaces, and its abundant resources — from oil and gas underground to the wind and sunshine all around — that heat our homes, power our automobiles and light the way.

One blessing that’s more directly connected to the advent of Colorado’s statehood itself is our founding charter — our state’s constitution — which shares the same birthday. Drafted in March of 1876 and approved by territorial voters on July 1 of the same year, the Colorado Constitution formally took effect Aug. 1, 1876, when Colorado was admitted to the union.

There’s good reason to celebrate the state’s constitution, as well, on Colorado Day.

Like any constitution, ours isn’t without foibles. At times it has left itself wide open to interpretation, and activist courts have been happy to oblige. Yet, on the balance, Colorado’s constitution has served its citizens pretty well — including by way of some well-timed and well-placed amendments to the document over the generations. Continue reading →

Jun 20

Coloradans have voted on 36 TABOR-related ballot measures since 1993, rejecting 69% of them

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Coloradans have voted on 36 TABOR-related ballot measures since 1993, rejecting 69% of them

By Jackie Mitchell
In Ballot measures
June 19, 2023 at 9:57 PM

Coloradans have decided on 36 statewide ballot measures that were designed to increase revenue for the state, which required voter approval under TABOR. Of the 36 measures, 11 (30.56%) were approved and 25 (69.44%) were defeated.

Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), adopted in 1992, was designed to require statewide voter approval of all new taxes, tax rate increases, extensions of expiring taxes, mill levy increases, valuation for property assessment increases, or tax policy changes resulting in increased tax revenue.

Of the 36 measures, 17 were referred to the ballot by the state legislature and 19 were placed on the ballot through citizen initiative petitions. Of the 11 approved measures, 10 were referred to the ballot by the state legislature and one was a citizen initiative.

Highlights:

 

  • 14 of the measures were designed to increase a tax. Of the 14 measures, two were approved and 12 were defeated. In 2004, voters approved an initiative to increase the tobacco tax to fund educational and healthcare programs. In 2020, voters approved a measure placed on the ballot by the state legislature to increase tobacco taxes and create a tax on nicotine products to fund health and education programs.

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May 06

Democrats’ top legislative priority: re-election

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Democrats’ top legislative priority: re-election

    • By Mark Hillman

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Mark Hillman

God saw fit to stop at 10 commandments, but politicians can’t leave well enough alone, so a series of “Eleventh Commandments” apply to them. One of those admonishes: Thou shall not make the voters more cynical.

This year, Democrats at our State Capitol are breaking that commandment, too.

So, let’s take a little walk down memory lane and remember this journey through Election Day.

Last week, Gov. Jared Polis and legislative Democrats tossed aside 30 years of fierce opposition to Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) which they’ve blamed for everything from crumbling roads to failing schools. Instead, they held a press conference to tout “their” plan to send every taxpayer a $400 check barely one month before voters receive their general election ballots.

There’s just one problem: that money already belongs to taxpayers.

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Apr 09

Conservatives file lawsuit to invalidate Colorado’s new transportation fees. Here’s what it claims.

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Senate Bill 260, passed by Democrats in 2021, enacted new fees on gasoline purchases, deliveries and Uber and Lyft rides to raise billions for transportation projects

7:23 AM MDT on Apr 8, 2022

Traffic flows along Interstate 70 west of Floyd Hill in Clear Creek County on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Colorado’s new transportation fees violate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and several other state finance laws and should be invalidated, two conservative groups and Republican state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg claim in a long-promised lawsuit filed late Thursday in Denver.

Senate Bill 260, passed by Democrats in the legislature last year, enacted a host of new transportation fees — including on gasoline purchases, deliveries and Uber and Lyft rides — to raise money for road and transit projects across the state.

To continue reading this story from the Colorado Sun, please click (HERE):
Sep 28

EDITORIAL: $4 billion in returns will fuel the economy

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Tails should not wag dogs. It defies physics, not to mention the will of the dog. Tails should wag dogs no more than politicians should decide the size and scope of a government established by the governed to serve the governed. A roaring economy should never increase the size and scope of government unless the people demand it.

The residents of Colorado have made clear they don’t want more government. They believe the state has all the money it needs. They reiterated this conviction just two years ago when they trounced Proposition CC, a proposal to let the state keep revenues above a floating state spending cap determined by an equation of inflation and population growth.

Just last year, voters went a step further and lowered the Property tax from 4.63% to 4.55%, and probably would have voted for a lower rate had they been given the option.

One reason this center-left blue state wants to throttle back government spending is the general discontent the public has with the way politicians treat their money.

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

Sep 28

Colorado to issue $4.1 billion in taxpayer refunds in next four years

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Source: Colorado Legislative Council; Chart: John Frank/Axios

Colorado is preparing to issue $4.1 billion in refunds to taxpayers over the next four years, new projections show.

State of play: Whether that’s a good thing remains up for debate among state lawmakers.

What’s happening: Democratic lawmakers and liberal advocates are renewing a push to bypass the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and keep the surplus tax revenue, saying the money is needed to help the state build back from the pandemic and improve education.

  • Early discussions involve moving certain revenue off the books.
  • Another possibility is asking voters to keep the money through a ballot measure.

What they’re saying: “This coming year, taxpayers will see rebate checks, but those will come at the expense of better funding for public services that reduce costs for all of us,” state Sens. Chris Hansen and Dominick Moreno, both Democratic budget writers, wrote in a recent opinion piece.

The other side: Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, is cheering the refunds, saying they’re a sign of a good economy.

Conservative supporters of TABOR are blasting Democrats for wanting to keep the cash.

  • “Colorado voters have said time and time again they want their TABOR refunds,” said Jesse Mallory, the Colorado director of Americans for Prosperity, a limited-government group. “The legislature should not ignore the will of the voters and look for loopholes to keep them.”

How it works: Under TABOR, the voter-approved constitutional amendment, Colorado’s tax revenues cannot exceed the rate of inflation plus population growth. When they do, the surplus must go back to taxpayers unless voters allow the government to spend the money.

The size of the surplus determines how it is refunded.

  • For the current year through 2024, the surplus is so large it will result in a temporary reduction of the state’s income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.5% and a sales tax refund.

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Sep 16

Sen. Rob Woodward: Why can’t Democrats respect the will of the voters?

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By Reporter-Herald guest opinions |

By Sen. Rob Woodward 

If there is one thing that I’ve learned during my time in state government, it’s that Coloradans like to have their voices heard on taxes, fees and government debt. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is often at the center of debate and discussion on these issues, but at every opportunity that voters have had, they’ve repeatedly upheld TABOR.

Colorado voters soundly defeated — by over 100,000 votes — an attempt to repeal portions of TABOR just two years ago when we voted down Proposition CC. Then, in 2020, voters strengthened TABOR by passing Proposition 117, which required that any new fees that feed into a government enterprise that expect to bring in over $100 million over five years must be voted on by the people. This initiative was born from necessity as some politicians found it convenient to bypass TABOR by simply switching out the term “tax” for “fee.”

This legislative session, Democrats, who have complete control over state government, were determined to not let you have a say when it comes to taxes and fees. Colorado Public Radio columnist Andrew Kenney dubbed this legislative session as “The Year Democrats Left TABOR Behind,” and I unfortunately must agree.

To continue reading the rest of this story, please click (HERE):
Aug 11

Mark Hillman: State Democrats ignore voters’ voices

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Mark Hillman: State Democrats ignore voters’ voices

By MARK HILLMAN |

August 11, 2021 at 7:30 a.m.

Gov. Jared Polis and Progressive Democrat majorities at the Ssate Capitol have spent the past three years ignoring clearly-expressed voices of Colorado voters on tax and economic issues. In fact, Progressive Democrats’ disregard for many of the same voters who elected them has become so brazen that they seem to be daring voters to hold them accountable.

With commanding majorities of 41-24 in the House of Representatives and 20-15 in the state Senate, it’s understandable that Democrats are developing a sense of invincibility.

However, it remains to be seen if the Democrats’ recent surge — in 2017, they held a 34-31 margin in the House, while Republicans had an 18-17 majority in the Senate — is due to their own popularity or because Donald Trump irritated many Colorado voters.

In 2018, Colorado voters rejected (59%-40%) a tax increase to raise $700 million a year for highways and transportation. In that same election, voters said “no” (55%-45%) to draconian restrictions on oil and gas development across the state. Polis, campaigning for governor, claimed to oppose those severe oil-and-gas restrictions.

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