By Rep. Ryan Gonzalez / March 21, 2025 / | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
In the state of Colorado, we are facing over a $1.2 BILLION dollar shortfall. As we are now halfway through the 2025 legislative session, we have seen little progress from the lawmaking majority on making hard and significant cuts to our budget.
Rather than admit the improper allocation of taxpayer dollars, the majority uses this predicament to go after and attack our Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).
Our state budget this year is over 43 BILLION. In the last 6 years they have gone from a budget surplus to a very progressive spending spree at the expense of taxpayers.
More offices, tax credits, and programs that require funding and eat away at TABOR refunds have been – and continue to be – the norm for the majority rule in Colorado.
Much of this is due, in part, to the COVID ripple effect that we are seeing now, just years in the making. As a first term legislator, I can see – firsthand – many problems in how things are being managed and run under the Gold Dome.
We do not, and I cannot stress this enough, we do not have a revenue problem.
We have a spending problem, a big one.
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Editor:
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) was approved by voters in 1992. Colorado voters approved a measure which amended Article X of the Colorado Constitution that restricts revenues for all levels of government (state, local and schools).
Under TABOR, state and local governments cannot raise tax rates without voter approval and cannot spend revenues collected under existing tax rates without voter approval. Revenue in excess of the TABOR limit, must be refunded to taxpayers. Under TABOR, the state has returned more than $2 billion to taxpayers.
For 32 years Colorado citizens have received a TABOR check with no conditional requirements. Last year, taxpayers received an $800 check for one qualifying taxpayer or $1,600 for two qualifying taxpayers filing jointly.
Today’s Colorado Department of Revenue’s web page states:
“Attention, please remember that you must claim the state sales tax refund (TABOR refund) when filing your state income tax return or Property Tax/Rent/Heat Rebate (PTC) Application. If you claimed a 2024 refund, the TABOR refund will be combined and issued with your tax refund. Unlike the 2022 Colorado cashback, no separate check will be issued.”
Now you, the taxpayer, must opt in your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” from your Federal Tax Report to determine your TABOR refund. If you do not fill in lines 31 to 34 on your state 2024 Colorado individual income tax return form DR 0104, you will not receive a refund. No $800 or $1,600 checks this year. Continue reading
In the November, 2024 general election, Arapahoe County voters approved ballot issue 1A, removing spending limits imposed by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Moving forward, this means county government gets to keep and spend over-collected tax revenue that would have otherwise been refunded to taxpayers.
In other words, voters gave county commissioners what amounts to a tax hike, and now it’s time to keep them accountable for it.
As part of the ballot language, a provision was included that mandates all spending of this tax revenue windfall be transparently reported. Specifically, it requires that the new spending be included in the county’s annual independent audit, published on the county website and that it be monitored and reviewed by a “resident advisory committee.” That’s where you come in.
The county pushed ballot measure 1A as a way to fund existing services that they claimed were potentially going to be cut due to budget shortfalls. And while I understand the need for transparency of how this massive influx of money should be spent, we must also make sure the advisory committee is up to the task and doesn’t just become a rubber stamp for political agendas and new pet projects.
According to the county website, the job of the committee is to ensure that 1A funds “are being used in alignment with their intended purpose, advocating for proper stewardship of these resources.”
If you think you’re up to that task, you should consider applying. It’s a great opportunity to get involved in your community, while also holding your elected officials accountable to the taxpayers.
There are ten committee slots to be filled, with at least one from each county commission district. Members serve three-year terms, with a two-term maximum. And if you’ve ever thought about running for public office, this is a great way to get some local government experience under your belt first.
Arapahoe County voters gave up their TABOR refunds in perpetuity, now it’s time to ensure county commissioner honor that sacrifice and hold up their end of the bargain.
Kathleen Chandler is an Arapahoe County resident and directs the Citizen Involvement Project at the Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver. She can be reached by email at Kathleen@i2i.org.
Citizen watchdogs needed for Arapahoe County 1A tax windfall – Complete Colorado
Advance Colorado Executive Vice President Kristi Burton Brown gives a brief history and explanation of Colorado’s unique taxpayer protection: the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. This revenue cap limits the state government’s ability to spend taxpayer dollars and requires refunds to be sent to Coloradans when the government collects beyond the limit.
March 1, 2025
The Department of Government efficiency (DOGE) faces many challenges in downsizing the federal government. The cuts in federal government programs proposed by DOGE have made headlines, but this approach to fiscal responsibility suffers from some blind spots. The federal government could learn much from the states in restoring sustainable fiscal policies.
One flaw is that DOGE will not address reforms in Social Security, Medicare, and other health care programs. These entitlement programs account for almost half of the federal budget and are growing at an unsustainable rate. Over the next decade, the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare will be exhausted. The most important lesson from the states is that budget constraints must apply to all programs, including entitlements. In recent decades, state expenditures for public employee pensions and health care programs were growing at an unsustainable rate. Most states responded to this challenge by reforming these programs to ensure their sustainability in the long term.
There is some ambiguity regarding the savings generated from DOGE reforms. Perhaps the worst idea is to simply return these savings to the budget in the following year; the states that have done this have had little success in constraining spending. Some have suggested that the savings generated by DOGE be offset by tax rebates, and some states have done this. However, the federal government now faces a debt crisis. The federal debt is now at $36 trillion and is projected to grow to more than double our national income by mid-century. There is almost universal agreement among economists that this growth in federal debt is not sustainable. The highest priority should be in stabilizing and reducing federal debt in coming decades, which means that any savings generated by DOGE, or from other reforms, should be earmarked for debt reduction.
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DENVER (KDVR) — Monday marked the first day the IRS could start accepting and processing your tax return.
Colorado filers need to keep an eye out for one key step to make sure they get all the money they are eligible for back in their wallets.
Coloradans are set to get TABOR refunds after they file their taxes this year, but the state is reminding residents that they have to opt in.
“Unfortunately, if you didn’t check that box for your taxes you filed in 2024 for tax year 2023, you did miss out on your tabor refund,” said Elisabeth Kosar, communications director for the Colorado Department of Revenue. “TABOR is something you need to opt into so please, please check that box or again have whoever is preparing your taxes check that box.” Continue reading
January 19, 2025 By Nash Herman
Colorado legislators are discovering first-hand the impossibility of having their cake and eating it too.
The Joint Budget Committee continues to meet with dozens of departments to reconcile an approximately $750 million budget shortfall in 2025, with some absurdly claiming that deficit is purely a result of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) at work.
Granted, it does sounds bizarre that the state must make budget cuts in a year that it is still expected to collect a surplus of revenue beyond what is allowed by TABOR. But by looking at the facts, anyone can come to see how the so-called budget “crisis” is actually a self-inflicted wound from the legislature’s relentless over-spending.
Having their cake
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Colorado received a windfall of federal funds to prop up the state economy and boost recovery. To fund that massive stimulus, the federal government printed money, causing an increased supply of dollars chasing the same number of goods. This in turn lead to the dollar being worth less, also known as inflation. Continue reading
