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Oct
31
Category Archives: TABOR Blog
Oct
28
The TABOR Committee 2021 Ballot Recommendations
Aug
22
Menten: How to weigh in on local TABOR ballot measures
Menten: How to weigh in on local TABOR ballot measures
One great, though lesser-known benefit provided in the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) is the local ballot issue notice. This guide is sent by mail at least 30-days before the election to all households with one or more registered voters.
The TABOR ballot issue notice includes content and details about upcoming local ballot measures which increase taxes, add debt, or suspend government revenue limits. It includes a section where registered electors have the opportunity to submit FOR or AGAINST comments, up to 500 words each.
You should know that there are two types of TABOR ballot issue notices. One notice is for the statewide elections and commonly referred to as the “Blue Book.” The notice discussed here is for elections held by local governments such as a city, town, school district, or special taxing district. You could potentially get more than one of these notices in the mail.
Several years back, it was discovered that out that of some 300 local tax issues throughout the state during a ballot year, only 15 had the taxpayer’s voice printed in a ballot issue notice. That’s only 5 percent! You can make a big difference and amplify your voice by being an author of the next ballot issue notice where you live. Considering that you reach thousands of voters, being able to submit comments in the TABOR notice costs almost nothing and takes relatively little time & energy.
Click (HERE) to continue reading the rest of this story:
Aug
11
Submitting FOR or AGAINST statements in your local TABOR ballot issue notice
Submitting FOR or AGAINST statements in your local TABOR ballot issue notice
One great though lesser-known benefit provided in the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) is the local ballot issue notice. This guide is sent by mail at least 30-days before the election to all households with one or more registered voters.
The TABOR ballot issue notice includes content and details about upcoming ballot issues which increase taxes, add debt, or suspend government revenue limits. It includes a section where registered electors have the opportunity to submit FOR or AGAINST comments, up to 500 words each.
You should know that there are two types of TABOR ballot issue notices. One notice is for the statewide elections and commonly referred to as the “Blue Book.” The other notice is for elections held by local governments such as a town, school district, or special district. You could potentially get more than one of these in the mail.
Several years back, Dennis Polhill challenged the Colorado Union of Taxpayers by pointing out that of some 300 tax issues statewide during a ballot year, only 15 had the taxpayer’s voice printed in a ballot issue notice. That’s only 5 percent! You can make a big difference and amplify your voice by being an author of the next ballot issue notice submittal. May we count on you please to participate? Considering that you reach thousands of voters, being able to submit comments in the TABOR notice costs almost nothing and takes relatively little time & energy.
Jul
24
2021 Colorado legislature’s new taxes bypass TABOR
2021 Colorado legislature’s new taxes bypass TABOR by Kevin Lundberg
Taxes and TABOR
As a part of my deeper dive into the 2021 bills that are now law, this week’s bills affecting taxes and TABOR are examined. In general, the bills which passed this year increased taxes and established new enterprises without calling for any constitutionally required votes from the people of Colorado.
This is far too predictable for the majority party. They use every trick in their playbook to wiggle around the clear intent of TABOR to require the people to vote on these significant new burdens on all citizens of Colorado.
However, there was one small bright spot I found. SB-227 created the State Emergency Reserve Cash Fund, finally putting actual cash into the TABOR-required emergency fund. Since TABOR was created, nearly thirty years ago, the TABOR emergency reserve has been essentially ignored. Instead of actually setting aside cash as a reserve the legislature creatively designated assets, such as buildings as the “reserve” for emergencies. Finally, in this year, when the state coffers are full of federal debt dollars, they found some money to actually make a viable fund.
But the rest of the laws headed in the opposite direction Continue reading
May
04
Protect Colorado Taxpayers – Vote NO on the Gas Tax
You’ve likely heard about the legislature’s new gas tax proposal, which seeks to raise over $4 billion to “solve” our infrastructure needs. This massive proposal includes new charges at the gas pump, on delivery services like Amazon, ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, and more. No matter who you are, they have a new charge for you.
We all agree that our roads and bridges need repair, but Coloradans already pay 22 cents per gallon in State taxes, on top of the 18.4 cents we pay in federal taxes. For certain politicians that’s just not enough.
Much of the debate has focused on the questionable legality of the proposal, due to the passage of Proposition 117 just this past November. That requires governments to receive voter approval before enacting these types of new, large “fees.” The unique protections of our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, require the legislature to obtain voter approval before raising taxes. But sponsors won’t let that stop them. Instead, they’re calling these new taxes, “fees,”’ so that Colorado voters won’t have a voice in the process. Continue reading
Apr
16
2021 Colorado Legislature: Bigger Government, Smaller Us
By Christine Burtt, TABOR Foundation Board Member
4/13/2021
There are several onerous pieces of legislation in Colorado this year that will negatively impact your standard of living, if not your way of life.
Here are three notable examples.
- HB21-1083, the so-called “Don’t dare to challenge the government’s valuation on your home” bill, was designed to create a chilling effect on homeowners questioning the assessment that calculates their property tax.
The bill, which has been signed into law by Governor Polis, was initiated by the Colorado Assessors. It changes existing law that prevented a county assessor from raising taxes on a property if the homeowner challenged an assessment. The previous law gave homeowners an appeals process if they believed their property had been assessed at a value higher than was warranted.
, with the new law, if you challenge the valuation set by the county assessor, the assessor may keep the valuation as stated, or may even increase your property tax. It won’t go down. Continue reading
Apr
06
State-Based Policy Groups Launch New Coalition to Oppose Gas Tax Proposal
State-Based Policy Groups Launch New Coalition to Oppose Gas Tax Proposal
APR 6, 2021 BY AFP
Battle Intensifies After Introduction of Framework, Initial Coalition Expands
DENVER – Americans for Prosperity-Colorado (AFP-CO) and partners formally launch the Colorado Taxpayers Coalition, a group of local advocacy partners set out to protect Colorado taxpayers by defeating the legislature’s current gas tax proposal and protecting the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).
AFP-CO is also running a statewide campaign that urges Coloradans to contact their elected official to advise against the bill. These efforts included a poll that revealed constituents in several state senate districts strongly oppose the proposal.
AFP-CO State Director Jesse Mallory issued the following statement: Continue reading
Mar
18
New Real Estate Transfer Taxes Are Not Allowed
New Real Estate Transfer Taxes Are Not Allowed
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights includes provisions beyond the required citizen vote on new or higher taxes.
Real estate purchases have much higher values than purchases of consumables. Purchasers of consumables such as household goods and of durable goods such as appliances and cars must pay a sales tax. Governments have looked hungrily at real estate purchases as possible sources of taxation, salivating over taking a portion of the value each time there is a sale.
That’s a bad idea.
Our Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is comprehensive enough to prevent any government (“district”) from even proposing to add this type of tax. Because TABOR is written into the state constitution, any government would first have to initiate a statewide vote to overturn this provision before a new tax scheme could even be considered.
There are just a few existing real estate transfer taxes, which were “grandfathered in” upon the 1992 passage of TABOR. There is a trivially small (.0001) statewide tax, mislabeled a “document fee,” for each sale. It was initially imposed just to provide an indication of sale price. There are 12 municipalities that have long-standing transfer taxes, all in the mountains and on the Western Slope. In addition to a prohibition of new transfer taxes, no rate increase is allowed for any existing transfer tax. For more detailed information, follow this link: http://thetaborfoundation.org/colorado-real-estate-transfer-taxes/
Colorado constitution (Article X, Section 20), paragraph 8(a) states: “New or increased transfer tax rates on real property are prohibited.”
The provision was included within the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights as an additional protection for citizens. A specific real estate sale might go forward in Colorado, when it otherwise might not quite reach the buyer’s threshold with the additional burden of an onerous transfer tax.
Mar
18
Colorado Real Estate Transfer Taxes
Colorado real estate transfer taxes
- State Documentary “Fee” (real estate transfer tax)
Upon the transfer (conveyance) of real property, a state statute gives all Colorado counties the power to collect a real estate transfer tax. The authorization is found in Colorado Revised Statute 39-13-101 et seq.
Each county assessor is responsible for determining the actual value of any property. The purpose of this real estate transfer tax is stated in the controlling statute’s legislative declaration as helping to establish what that market value is. To do so, the assessor’s office needs to maintain a continuing record of the total price paid by purchasers.
The tax is calculated at one penny for every $100 of the purchase price (.01 percent[1]). As an example, a house selling for $450,000 would see imposed a transfer tax of $45. Values of real estate under $500 are excluded.
(An additional charge to cover the cost of processing the recorded document may be added to the tax so that the total “doc fee” shown on a closing form is likely higher than the tax.)
The tax is imposed upon transfer of all residential, commercial or other real property. There are a few exceptions, the primary one being that no government (federal, state or local) must pay the tax, although it must show the purchase price on the recoded document. Another important exception is the transfer of inherited property.
The law directs the tax be collected when the real estate transfer is to be recorded at the county’s clerk & recorder’s office. The tax is accepted by the clerk’s office and deposited by the county treasurer to be used as general fund revenue for the county.
The law creating this tax was passed in 1963. It has not been modified since.
- Local transfer taxes
There are 12 different towns in the mountains / Western Slope that impose real estate transfer taxes. These were extant at the passage of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1992 and so were “grandfathered in.” The towns with the tax are shown in the accompanying table.
The constitutional provision created a statewide prohibition on the creation of new transfer taxes or the increase of existing transfer taxes
Towns with authority to impose a real estate transfer tax
| Town | Percentage of purchase price |
| Aspen | 1.5 ** |
| Avon | 2.0 |
| Breckenridge | 1.0 |
| Crested Butte | 3.0 |
| Frisco | 1.0 |
| Gypsum | 1.0 |
| Minturn | 1.0 |
| Ophir | 4.0 |
| Snowmass Village | 1.0 |
| Telluride | 3.0 |
| Vail | 1.0 |
| Winter Park | 1.0 |
There was no state law governing the adoption of local transfer taxes. All towns and cities on the list are home rule municipalities and they adopted their real estate transfer taxes pursuant to their constitutional authority under Article XX to do so as a matter of local concern. This explains why only municipalities, not counties, have legacy transfer taxes that predate the prohibition created in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
** Actually, two separate taxes totaling 1.5%: Wheeler Opera House RETT 0.5%; Housing RETT 1.0%, and the first $100K is deducted prior to applying the HRETT
This synopsis was written by Penn R. Pfiffner in February 2021. The author wishes to recognize the assistance of the Colorado Municipal League, which supplied the rates in the table and added language about home rule.
[1] See 39-13-102 paragraph 2(b)