Category Archives: TABOR Refunds

Oct 01

Refund Madness: Taxpayers From Coast To Coast Set To Receive Surplus Revenue

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That is unless more voters vote to pay higher taxes, give up their TABOR refunds permanently, and lose their brake on tax and spend politicians.
#TABOR
#DontLoseYourRights
#DontGetFooledAgain
#VoteNoOnPropCC
#WhyTABORMatters

November 2019 Ballot Measure Will Decide Fate Of All Future Taxpayer Refunds In Colorado 

The ultimate debate over the refunding of surplus revenue to taxpayers is taking place in Colorado, home to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), a law that requires surplus revenue collected in excess of the rate of population growth plus inflation be returned to Colorado taxpayers.

Thanks to a strong economy, revenue collections have been coming in well-above the TABOR spending cap, meaning that roughly $650 million is scheduled to be refunded to Colorado taxpayers. Proposition CC, a measure referred to the November 2019 ballot by Governor Jared Polis (D) and Democrats who run the Colorado Legislature, would stop that scheduled refund, and all future refunds.

Passage of Proposition CC would gut TABOR, guaranteeing a higher state tax burden in the future, even if all tax increases would still be subject to voter approval.

“Prop CC says you agree to give up your tax refunds not for just this year, not for the next four years, but forever,” Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, writes in the Denver Post this week. “No future generation will be able to give or withhold their consent over their tax refunds…Our children’s children’s children will never get a TABOR refund. Nor even be asked.”

Click (HERE) to read the rest of this story:

Sep 29

What’s next — eliminating the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights altogether?

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“We are perhaps the only state in the nation that has some control over government tax increases. Are we willing to give this up?” – William Hineser of Arvada
 
Sep 26

The Democratic agenda came with a big price tag. Now Colorado budget writers worry about paying the bill.

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The Democratic agenda came with a big price tag. Now Colorado budget writers worry about paying the bill.

The rising costs of Gov. Jared Polis’ full-day kindergarten program is part of an estimated $100 million in additional costs lawmakers will need to cover

John Frank

The Colorado Sun — johnfrank@coloradosun.com

To pass their expansive legislative agenda, the new Democratic majority at the Colorado Capitol spent big this year. Real big. And now even Democratic budget writers are worried about how to make ends meet.

“There were a lot of bills passed last (session) that have continued spending … and some of those were very large,” said Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo. “I don’t think we completely all truly understand what we have obligated ourselves to.”

The incoming chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee issued the extraordinary warning about the forthcoming spending constraints Friday, two months before lawmakers will meet to craft the spending plan for the next fiscal year.

A preliminary estimate prepared for budget writers shows the legislation approved in the 2019 session will cost an additional $80 million to $100 million in the next budget. One factor is a low-ball estimate for the cost of full-day kindergarten, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ chief legislative priority in his first year.

The additional costs anticipated don’t include other major obligations that will come due, such as a projected $175 million to expand inpatient treatment for opioid and substance abuse under legislation approved in 2018 and another $30 million more for the state’s share in a federal children’s health insurance program.

Right now, projections show Colorado may not have the money to cover all the bills and continue spending at its current rate in other priority areas, such as education, transportation and health care.

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

Sep 25

Hear Paul Prentice Speak on Proposition CC & TABOR

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If you’re in the Colorado Springs area, join Paul Prentice as he’s speaking on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and Referendum CC
at Church For All Nations (CFAN)
6540 Templeton Gap Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80923
Tuesday, October 8 from 7:00-9:00 pm

Sep 24

In its latest ruling, Colorado Supreme Court once again avoids question at heart of TABOR debate

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In its latest ruling, Colorado Supreme Court once again avoids question at heart of TABOR debate

NFIB filed a lawsuit five years ago arguing that fees levied by the secretary of state’s office violated the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The ruling left them unsatisfied.

The Colorado Sun — johnfrank@coloradosun.com

More than 25 years since the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights won voters approval in Colorado, one question continues to vex policymakers and judges: What qualifies as as tax?

The question sat at the center of a 5-year-old case before the Colorado Supreme Court challenging the fees the secretary of state’s office charges businesses. The 22-page ruling issued by the court Monday, however, once again avoids a direct answer.

What is clear in the decision: The fees the Department of State charges to businesses for registration, licenses and other purposes do not equate to a tax that needs approval for voters under the requirements of TABOR.

The National Federation of Independent Business, which represents small businesses, filed a lawsuit in 2014 challenging this system as unconstitutional. The group argued that the charges to businesses were taxes — rather than fees — because the revenue paid for other unrelated agency services, such as overseeing elections. And if true, any increase in the charges or alteration in the policy would run afoul of TABOR, which mandates such moves need consent from voters.

The state Supreme Court’s decision rejecting the claim affirmed a lower court ruling that sided with the secretary of state and vacated a Court of Appeals determination that kept the case alive. The case started under Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler and continued under his GOP successor Wayne Williams. But in the end it carried the name of Secretary Jena Griswold, a Democrat, who applauded the decision.

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