Nov 07

Hope and Despond in Colorado

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Voters stood up for tax refunds—but not charter schools.

By  The Editorial Board
Nov. 6, 2019 7:05 pm ET

Opinion: Colorado Voters Stood Up for Tax Refunds


Proposition CC would have affected the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in Colorado. However, the measure failed at the polls on November 5, 2019. Image: David Zalubowski/Associated Press

They didn’t make the biggest headlines, but Tuesday’s elections in Colorado included two results that deserve national attention. First, a wide margin of voters refused to weaken the state’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a constitutional provision that prevents state tax collections from outpacing inflation plus population growth.

Voters approved TABOR, as it’s commonly called, in 1992. Since then it has delivered Coloradans about $3.5 billion in tax refunds, which are required whenever state revenue exceeds the calculated limit. But politicians, being politicians, would much prefer to spend the extra funds. Proposition CC would have eviscerated TABOR by allowing the state to put any revenue windfall into schools and roads.

A point of worry among fiscal conservatives was the ballot question’s wording, which began: “Without raising taxes . . . ” Perhaps this was strictly accurate, since no tax rates would have changed. But it was misleading in spirit, given that the proposition’s point was to let the state government keep more taxpayer money. Voters weren’t fooled. The measure failed, 45% to 55%, as of the tally Wednesday.

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

Nov 06

The next fiscal fight in Colorado starts now: A bid to repeal TABOR and one to raise taxes on top earners

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The defeat of Proposition CC on the 2019 ballot is not deterring a movement by liberal groups for a graduated income tax system

Colorado voters rejected a bid to remove the spending caps in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights — but the fiscal fight is only expected to get more intense in the next year.

One interest group is considering a repeal of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and another is testing ideas for a graduated tax system that increases rates for the wealthy. Both are eyeing the 2020 ballot and appear undeterred by Proposition CC’s defeat this year.

“Whatever we do next must be bold enough to drown out the alarmists. That work begins today,” said Scott Wasserman at the Bell Policy Center, the organization seeking to overhaul the tax system, in a statement.

“If we truly want to build a state that works for everyone, then we need to amend the constitution,” added Carol Hedges at the Colorado Fiscal Institute, which is working to unwind TABOR.

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

Nov 05

Government & Regulations Proposition CC effort to increase funding for transportation and education rejected by voters

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By Ed Sealover  – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

Colorado voters on Tuesday rejected a plan to increase funding for highway improvements for the third time in two elections, defeating a statewide ballot initiative that sought to end future tax refunds in years when the state collects too much revenue and put that money instead to transportation, K-12 and higher education.

The defeat of Proposition CC, which was put onto the ballot largely along Democratic-led partisan lines during the 2019 legislative session but was backed by a number of business and education groups in a campaign this fall, was swift and sure. By the time more than 1 million ballots had been counted around 8:10 p.m., it already was down by a 12-point margin that was growing wider, and Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ken Buck had put out a statement saying that voters rejected what amounted to a grab of their tax money without a rock-solid guarantee of how it would be spent.

“Colorado taxpayers were the clear winner in tonight’s defeat of Proposition CC,” Buck said in a statement. “Governor (Jared) Polis and the liberal State Legislature overreached once again but were unsuccessful in deceiving the voters of Colorado to fund their reckless spending spree.”

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

Nov 05

The Most Important Ballot Initiative of 2019

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November 4, 2019 by Dan Mitchell

Last November, voters in some states had the opportunity to accept or reject some very important initiatives, including votes on Colorado’s flat tax, Arizona’s school choice system, and a carbon tax in the state of Washington.

Since 2019 is an off-year election, there aren’t as many initiatives and referendums. But one of them is vitally important. Politicians in Colorado are hoping voters will approve Proposition CC, which would gut the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and thus allow more government spending.

Why is TABOR worth defending? Because it’s far and away the most effective and well-designed fiscal rule in the United States.

It’s basically a spending cap, which is the ideal fiscal policy, and here’s a description of how it works that I shared last year.

Colorado voters adopted The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1992. TABOR allows government spending to grow each year at the rate of inflation-plus-population. Government can increase faster whenever voters consent. Likewise, tax rates can be increased whenever voters consent. …The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires that excess government revenues be refunded to taxpayers, unless taxpayers vote to let the government keep the revenue.

Proposition CC doesn’t fully repeal TABOR, but it allows politicians to keep – and spend – excess tax revenues.

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

Nov 04

Norquist & Gleason: Fate our nation’s most important taxpayer protection measure hangs in the balance

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The 2020 presidential campaign is dominating media coverage, but in just a few days, on Nov. 5, the voters (not a poll) of the battleground state of Colorado will determine the future of the nation’s strongest and most effective tax and expenditure limitation measure, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Approved by more than 53 percent of voters in 1992, Colorado’s TABOR mandates that state revenue cannot grow faster than the combined rate of inflation and population growth. State revenue collected in excess of the TABOR cap is refunded to taxpayers. TABOR also requires lawmakers to get voter approval for all tax increases.

It is projected that Colorado state government will have to refund roughly $500 million to Colorado taxpayers in 2020 due to revenue collections coming in above the TABOR cap. The progressive Democrats who run Colorado’s state legislature and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis are working to prevent those and all future refunds from happening with a measure referred to the November 2019 ballot that seeks to kill the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Proposition CC, which will appear on the statewide ballot in Colorado this fall, asks Colorado voters to allow state government to keep money that is supposed to be sent back to taxpayers in accordance with TABOR. Passage of Proposition CC would mean the end of the TABOR and the result would be a significantly higher tax burden in perpetuity for individuals, families, and employers across Colorado.

 

 

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

Nov 01

Coloradans for Prosperity is sending people voter “report cards.” Here’s who the group is and what they want.

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Voters cast ballots at a polling location in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

Coloradans for Prosperity is sending people voter “report cards.” Here’s who the group is and what they want.

The Democratic-leaning issue committee is supporting Proposition CC, which seeks to eliminate state spending caps under TABOR. Turnout among Democrats for the 2019 election has been low.


PRIMARY CATEGORY IN WHICH BLOG POST IS PUBLISHED

Jesse Paul

The Colorado Sun — jesse@coloradosun.com

Coloradans for Prosperity, a deep-pocketed group working to pass Proposition CC on November’s ballot, has been sending people a voter “report card” in an effort to boost turnout.

The report cards grade recipients on their recent voting record compared to their neighbors, urging them to cast their ballots. Some voters have been frustrated by the mailers, however, saying they incorrectly give them a poor mark on their turnout.

“Public records indicate that you voted less often than your neighbors in recent elections,” the mailer reads. “Raise your grade by voting in the 2019 general election in November.”

It also says: “You and thousands of Colorado residents will vote. With so much at stake, it’s critical we vote our values.”

Coloradans for Prosperity is an issue committee that has raised and spent roughly $4 million on the 2019 election cycle. It works to support Democratic causes.

(Learn more about Coloradans for Prosperity and their funding here.)

Representatives for the committee did not immediately respond to Colorado Sun requests for comment on Friday.

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

Oct 25

14 REASONS TO OPPOSE UNLIMITED STATE SPENDING

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  1. Does it make sense to vote to give up your right to vote, FOREVER?
  1. Is it right to vote away other people’s right to vote?
  1. Government spending is either limited or unlimited. Which do you want?
  1. The Founding Fathers risked everything for “posterity.” That’s us. Should we surrender the rights of our children and grandchildren…our posterity?
  1. If you don’t want your state tax refund, tear up your state refund check, butdon’t deny state tax refunds to millions of families who want or need it.
  1. Make politicians live on a balanced budget, not a blank check.
  1. America was founded on “the consent of the governed,” a very good idea.
  1. If spending grows without limit in good times, cuts hurt more in bad times.
  1. Politicians can change current spending promises in 2020. It’s called lying.
  1. State spending grows automatically by inflation plus population; we are voting only on the surplus. No ordinary law can change the constitution.
  1. Total state spending is over $40.9 BILLION yearly; it has zoomed from $9 BILLION in 1994 (6.5% yearly). With 5.5 million people, it now exceeds $7,500 EACH ($30,000 for an average family of four). Isn’t that enough?
  1. In 2005, they tricked us into a 5-year state spending “time out.” 14 years later, they still steal our refunds. Our loss now exceeds $2 billion yearly.
  1. Colorado has the best economy of any state, per a national survey. Don’t ruin our prosperity by allowing this BIG tax hike!
  1. The ballot title says, “Without raising taxes,” another lie. If you lose your tax refund, you pay higher total taxes than if you get your tax refund.
Oct 23

Ferry: Prop CC is a blank check with no expiration date

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Even though I don’t write a column anymore, some issues demand attention. Today, it’s Proposition CC. The question is, where to start.

The deceptive wording is as good a place as any.

“Without raising taxes and to better fund public schools, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit, within a balanced budget, may the state keep and spend all the revenue it annually collects after June 30, 2019, but is not currently allowed to keep and spend under Colorado law, with an annual audit to show how the retained revenues are spent?”

It seems to me if the legislature wants to strip one of the fundamentals of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, our lawmakers should have the nerve to say so.

For those of you who don’t know, in 1992 voters amended the Colorado Constitution to limit the growth of government by limiting spending — a bill affectionately known as TABOR.

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