Fiscal Policy Center’s Testimony on Bill to Reclassify TABOR Revenue
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, Independence Institute’s Fiscal Policy Center Policy Analyst Nash Herman submitted written testimony on SB26-042 to the Senate Finance Committee. If passed, the bill would reclassify certain revenue streams to align with the statutory definitions of “damage awards,” and “revenue collected for other governments,” carveouts created by the Taxpayer’s Bill of […]
Colorado’s sweetheart tax deals roll on in spite of budget shortfall
If Colorado legislators aren’t taking this year’s alleged “budget crisis” seriously, why should the rest of us? Only a couple of weeks into the regular session, lawmakers have already introduced more than a dozen bills that would create, continue, or expand special interest tax credits or deductions. If math is still a real thing, then […]
How TABOR was betrayed
This column first appeared in The Gazette on February 1st, 2026. If you have lived in Colorado for any length of time, you are likely familiar with the near-constant claims that TABOR’s limit on government growth restricts the state’s ability to fund essential services. Without TABOR, critics say, the state could fully fund schools, repair […]
Nash Herman Discusses How TABOR Failed to Stop Government Bloat
Independence Institute Policy Analyst Nash Herman appeared on The Mandy Connell Podcast this week to discuss his new report, Leviathan by Loophole: the Growth of Colorado’s State Government After TABOR. Despite claims that TABOR prevents the state from funding its needs, historical budget and economic data show that the state government continues to grow beyond the […]
Colorado lawmakers in denial over self-inflicted budget wound
In the wise words of Peter Tosh, “you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” Analysts from Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC) staff recently confirmed what we at Independence Institute have been saying since last January: “If all one-time revenue had been spent on one-time activities and […]
Leviathan by Loophole: the Growth of Colorado’s State Government After TABOR
Click here for a one-page summary of the report. Introduction and Key Findings In 1992, Coloradans passed Amendment 1 to enshrine Article X, Section 20, known as the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), in the state constitution.[1] The preferred interpretation of the measure, as stated in the ballot language, was to “reasonably restrain most the […]
Colorado due for a reckoning over runaway Medicaid costs
The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC) recently held a hearing with the Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing (HCPF), the Governor’s office, and Manatt, a healthcare consulting firm, to address the unsustainable growth of Colorado’s Medicaid spending. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the hearing. Runaway spending According to HCPF and the […]
The case for broad-based Colorado income tax relief
Colorado policymakers recently rediscovered what some of us have long known: more money in people’s pockets reduces poverty. A recent Denver Post article by Nick Coltrain discusses the apparent success of Colorado’s Family Affordability Tax Credit (FATC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in reducing childhood poverty by nearly 41 percent. Unfortunately, gold dome policymakers […]
Taxpayers on the hook for growing cost of government debt
Debt is a powerful and beneficial tool when used appropriately. Unfortunately, at the state, national, and local levels of government on down to the individual, debt threatens to cripple Coloradans’ economic freedom and prosperity. Federal debt The US government’s gross national debt recently reached $38 trillion, this only a short two months after hitting $37 […]
Nash Herman Discusses False Claims About Colorado’s Budget and Taxation
Independence Institute Policy Analyst Nash Herman appeared on the Free State Colorado podcast this week to talk about two of Herman’s recent articles on the state budget and progressive taxation. He clarified why recent rhetoric surrounding the state’s budget and taxation is incorrect. Colorado’s government is not being forced into a state of ‘austerity,’ and […]
Empty promises fill ‘progressive’ Colorado tax hike measure
The newest iteration of the so-called “progressive” income tax hike being pushed for the 2026 Colorado ballot raises serious concerns that it does much more than its proponents would have voters believe. Peering beyond the slogans and apparent doublespeak, Initiative 181 bears a disconcerting resemblance to Proposition HH, which voters wisely shot down in 2023. […]
What Colorado’s state treasurer gets wrong about ‘austerity’
In a recent Denver Post opinion piece, State Treasurer Dave Young urges higher taxes on the wealthy and energy production as a fix for the legislature’s ongoing and self-imposed struggle to balance Colorado’s state budget. Rather than engaging in this year’s budget challenges in good faith, Young turns to euphemisms, slogans, and strawmen to […]
