#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteNoOnPropHH
#TABOR
Aug
08
Category Archives: TABOR Blog
Aug
03
David Flaherty CEO of Magellan Strategies Talks About Proposition HH
David Flaherty is CEO of Magellan Strategies, a CO-based public opinion polling and survey research firm. He recently did an interesting poll about Proposition HH, a measure on this November’s ballot which will slightly lower property tax rates while all but eliminating (over several years) TABOR refunds. It’s a disgusting and cynical ploy which I will work hard to defeat. The poll’s findings are interesting: in short, people like HH until they understand it. The implications are obvious.
Colorado Proposition HH Opinion Survey | Magellan Strategies
Colorado Proposition HH poll shows mixed support, opposition (denverpost.com)
I also want to know: How do pollsters inform respondents about an issue, to test uninformed vs informed, without injecting bias into the question?
Click the following link to hear a recording of the show:
#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteNoOnPropHH
#TABOR
Aug
03
Voters Polled On Proposition HH
It’s important to educate the voter on Prop HH. 44% of people will vote against it if they know enough about it.
2 key takeaways that every voter should know:
- Prop HH will take away your TABOR tax refund.
- Local governments will be able to keep money owed to you without asking your permission.
Here are the results of Magellan’s Polling survey: https://magellanstrategies.com/proposition-hh-survey/
And the Polling presentation: https://magellanstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Colorado-Proposition-HH-Voter-Opinion-Survey-Presentation-071223.pdf
Here are some stats at a glance:
Prop HH Familiarity
- 41% of total voters are unfamiliar with the proposal
- 42% of men are not familiar at all with the proposal
- 41% of women are not familiar at all with the proposal
- 48% of Democrat voters are not familiar at all with the proposal
- 38% of Unaffiliated voters are not familiar at all with the proposal
- 38% of Republicans are not familiar all with the proposal
- 47% of Latinos are not familiar at all with the proposal
- 44% of Blacks are not familiar at all with the proposal
Uninformed Ballot (of people who don’t understand what HH will do).
- 68% of Democrat voters approve
- 50% of Unaffiliated voters approve
- 44% of Republican voters approve
Losing TABOR refunds and letting the state retain the money
- 26% of Democrats voters reject
- 55% of Unaffiliated voters reject
- 75% of Republican voters reject
- 44% of Latino voters reject
- 52% of Black voters reject
Participatory Taxation *
- 61% of men reject the proposal
- 54% of women reject the proposal
- 52% of voters 18 -34 reject the proposal
- 63% of voters 35 – 44 reject the proposal
- 44% of Democrat voters reject the proposal
- 61% of Unaffiliated voters reject the proposal
- 67% of Republicans reject the proposal
- 54% of Hispanic voters reject the proposal
- 69% of Black voters reject the proposal
* If Prop HH is approved, a new process called “Participatory Taxation” or “Truth in
Taxation” would be created for local governments to consider. This process would allow a
majority of local government elected officials to vote to retain property tax revenue that
would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers. To clarify, elected officials, rather than voters,
would decide to keep property tax revenue.
#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteNoOnPropHH
#TABOR
Jul
13
Protecting Colorado Taxpayers and Preserving TABOR: Jonathan Williams on American Radio Journal
ALEC Executive Vice President of Policy and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams discusses an upcoming Colorado ballot measure that would expand government spending and weaken Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), the nation’s strongest taxpayer protection.
The progressive push to undermine common sense checks on government spending is never-ending. It’s evidenced recently by the debate over the federal debt limit in Washington DC. The latest push is happening in Colorado as progressives are once again attempting to undermine the taxpayers’ Bill of Rights or TABOR, which is the gold standard of a state constitutional limit on overspending and overtaxing. It was adopted by voters as a state constitutional amendment back in 1992. It has helped restrain the growth of government and return billions of dollars to Colorado taxpayers.
However, the upcoming ballot measure in Colorado if approved, would gut TABOR in exchange for small, short-term cuts to property tax. Known as Proposition HH, this proposal tempts voters with the allure of a property tax cut with its real purpose is to clearly to water down TABOR’s tax and spending limits. My friend Ben Murray, Director of fiscal policy at the Independence Institute, described the package as a boondoggle of a property tax plan. The attacks on TABOR aren’t new. The property tax cut quote unquote, is the only latest gimmick to attempt to unleash the leviathan of big government on hardworking Coloradoans.
As the ALEC team explained in the National Review on the recent 30th anniversary of TABOR, TABOR has seen no shortage of progressive attacks which serves as an acknowledgement of the danger it presents to those that would like no constraints on the government’s ability to grow. Though all states except Bernie Sanders of Vermont have some sort of a balanced budget requirements in state law or their constitution, most don’t have robust protections such as that what TABOR offers.
Jun
20
TABOR and the 2023 legislative session
TABOR and the 2023 legislative session
We follow the bills as best we can, but do not rate them, relying instead on the excellent and thorough Colorado Union of Taxpayer’s work and that done by others, such as the Republican Liberty Caucus. There were a few good ideas and plenty of bad ones, but we focused only on those that affect TABOR.
The General Assembly pretty much left the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights alone until the final week of the legislative session. Then, legislators dropped a big negative on Colorado with a bill to place Proposition HH on the ballot this fall.
The entire idea is bad. It is very complex and convoluted legislation that proponents tout as lowering your property taxes. It fails. The Gallagher Amendment was repealed a couple years back. That action removed the method to tamp down increases in residential property taxes. With property taxes threatened to soar next year, Proposition HH (Senate Bill 23-303) takes money owed back to the taxpayer to reduce some (perhaps half) of the property tax increase. It literally uses a big tax increase by taking your TABOR rebates in order to pay down your property tax increases! Dastardly. Sneaky. Terrible.
What is your TABOR Committee doing about it? We brought together like-minded organizations to protect TABOR by defeating this crumby, lose-lose measure, in which only the government benefits. The new coalition will function as a clearinghouse and share ideas and efforts, although no strong core has materialized as yet. Your TABOR Committee already filed to set up a statewide issue committee (a legal necessity to conform to election requirements). We funded it with seed money and secured a matching donation.
Are you torqued off yet?
Please join the fight by volunteering. Let your interest be known by emailing info@TheTaborCommittee.com or calling 303-747-7460. Please also donate to our efforts by sending a check to the TABOR Coalition at 720 Kipling, Suite 12, Lakewood 80215.
Proposition HH has more pieces to it – a hike in the State revenue and spending limitation that allows government to grow faster than the private sector and a provision about the senior exemption. One of our allies filed a lawsuit because the measure violates the single-subject rule. It has been joined by a dozen local governments!
A different measure on the fall ballot asks voters to allow the State to keep higher marijuana taxes. A provision in TABOR requires proposed tax increases to estimate the amount to be raised. In order to keep governments from monkeying with the estimate, any overage must be returned and the rate adjusted downward, unless the taxpayers in a second vote allow the higher receipts.
There was another anti-TABOR bill that adjusts some definitions on insurance premiums taxes. TABOR does not allow arguments that any higher taxes are too little to care about (de minimis). But, in a lawsuit several years ago filed by the TABOR Foundation (our sister organization), the Colorado Supreme Court errantly imposed a de minimis provision. We cannot fight the precedent set then, and the amount this year truly is small – less than $7,000.
Jun
09
TABOR’s Penn Pfiffner Talks With Famed Economist Dan Mitchell About TABOR
May
25
TABOR Coalition Launches to Protect Refunds, Taxpayers
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 24, 2023
CONTACT: Caitlin Gallagher Blundell,?cgallagher@standtogether.org??
TABOR Coalition Launches to Protect Refunds, Taxpayers
Organizations across Colorado have come together to protect taxpayers & oppose any attempt to take away TABOR refunds
DENVER, CO – Today a coalition of organizations came out in opposition to any attempt by the legislature or special interest groups to take away Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds. Colorado is expected to return $2.7 billion to taxpayers in the coming year.
“While special interests and politicians have been busy looking for ways to withhold TABOR refunds over the last several months, Americans for Prosperity, our activists and coalition partners have been busy contacting voters across the state,” said AFP-CO State Director Jesse Mallory. “Families have already received two rounds of TABOR refunds and polling has shown TABOR is more popular than ever. Trying to convince voters to weaken TABOR and eliminate refunds will be a nearly impossible ask.”
Coloradans benefit from TABOR refunds and these organizations have pledged their support to protect taxpayers from any attempt to interfere with them. The organizations are:
- Advance Colorado
- Americans for Prosperity-Colorado
- Broomfield Taxpayer Matters
- Centennial Institute
- Colorado Union of Taxpayers
- Colorado Women’s Alliance
- Independence Institute
- Liberty Scorecard
- Lincoln Club Colorado
- Springs Taxpayers United
- Steamboat institute
- TABOR Committee
BACKGROUND:
The coalition came out in opposition to any attempts by the legislature or special interest groups to take away TABOR refunds from the taxpayers they belong to. Colorado is expected to return $2.7 billion to taxpayers in the coming year.
Recently, Governor Polis and lawmakers tied TABOR refunds to the state’s skyrocketing property tax.
For more than 30 years, Coloradans have benefited from TABOR refunds. The coalition and its members pledge support to protect taxpayers from any attempt from Gov. Polis and the General Assembly to take away their rightful, hard-earned return.
For further information or an interview, reach CAITLIN GALLAGHER at cgallagher@standtogether.org or (206) 402-8432.
Through broad-based grassroots outreach, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is driving long-term solutions to the country’s biggest problems. AFP activists engage friends and neighbors on key issues and encourage them to take an active role in building a culture of mutual benefit, where people succeed by helping one another. AFP recruits and unites Coloradans behind a common goal of advancing policies that will help people improve their lives. For more information, visit www.AmericansForProsperity.org
To view this release online click here.
May
01
Twitter Post By Roger D. Hudson About TABOR, Gov. Polis, & Colorado’s Property Tax Problem
Roger D. Hudson @RogerHudsonCO
Polis unveiled his plan to fix Colorado’s #PropertyTax problem — it asks voters to use TABOR refunds. “While we at the Capitol were making new laws that were too expensive, real Coloradans have been opening up their mail —finding tax bills they can’t pay. bit.ly/3B2zDSd
May
01
TABOR Gives Taxpayers a Voice
TABOR Gives Taxpayers a Voice
By Dennis Polhill
A recent election result showed the great value of the requirement within the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights for voters to approve new taxes or debt. There was a TABOR election in the Foothills Fire Protection District (FFPS). The outcomes measure how upset voters were with the proposed actions of elected officials.
Ballot issue 6B would have allowed the District to issue new debt. That was soundly defeated 74.11% to 25.89%
Ballot issue 6C would have increased taxes and it too was defeated, by 66.98% to 33.02%
The tactics used to obtain this taxpayer money were very questionable. A former board member who painstakingly reviewed all meeting documentation learned that there had been absolutely zero public discussion of the proposed ballot measures prior to the August meeting when the measure was placed on the ballot. Yet, the proposal passed unanimously – without discussion! Had something been happening behind the scenes, in violation of the Sunshine laws? Note that the August meeting was the last possible moment to meet the County Clerk’s deadline for a November citizen vote to put the referral to the ballot .
Paradise Hills Homeowners Association on Lookout Mountain accounts for close to half of the homes protected by FFPD and owns a vacant lot designated for open space use near an I-70 highway exit. At a Homeowners Association meeting an alert retired firefighter picked up on what was happening when it was mentioned that FFPD would buy the vacant lot for a new station for $400,000, yielding a significant rainy day fund or dues waiver for Homeowners Association owners. Did FFPD intend to buy their votes with their own tax dollars?
Citizens immediately started getting the word out; flyers were printed, yard signs went up, and a couple of large banners created. Comments on Nextdoor were not friendly to FFPD, resulting in the censoring from Nextdoor of some neighbors who posted information.
By this time the community was in angry uproar and five folks who otherwise likely would never have run for any office are now candidates for the five seats on the FFPD board due to be elected on May 2, 2023.
Mar
17
Bullet Point #1 Under Taxation In The Colorado Democrat Party Platform
Did you know?
The Colorado Democrat’s party platform states that they want to eliminate TABOR?