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Fiscal

The residents of Colorado have been roiled by public arguments over the proper scope of government and the level of taxes and spending appropriate and necessary to finance its operations. Unfortunately, Coloradans often hear most from the people and special interests who benefit most from the spoils of an ever-expanding government. Our citizens need clear analysis of government taxation and spending from non-partisan experts focused exclusively on the interests of residents and taxpayers. The Fiscal Policy Center does just that.

The purpose of the Fiscal Policy Center is to protect the pocketbooks of Colorado taxpayers and ensure government spends Coloradans’ hard-earned money responsibly and efficiently on essential government services. The center produces substantive policy analysis, educates the public on its findings, and promotes fiscal policy ideas centered around the principles of limited government, the free market, and the liberty of individuals and families to choose where their money goes.

Latest Posts

  • Fiscal Crises in Colorado0

    In Colorado we are experiencing the worst fiscal crises in the last half century. In this study we document the magnitude of the fiscal crises, comparing the revenue shortfall in
    this recession with that in previous recessions. We then explore the reasons for the greater severity of the current fiscal crises in Colorado compared to prior fiscal crises.
    The next sections discuss how our fiscal policies and fiscal rules of the game have contributed to the severity of the fiscal crises. We conclude with a discussion of the need
    for reforms in our fiscal policies and fiscal rules to better achieve budget stability.

    READ MORE

  • Learning to Live Within Colorado’s Tax and Spending Limits0

    The Colorado Commission on Taxation has just completed a survey of Colorado citizen attitudes toward the tax system. This is an important survey because it reflects the views
    of ordinary citizens rather than that of politicians or special interest groups. It reveals some hostility to taxes and a low trust in the efficiency of government. This skepticism
    toward taxes and government efficiency is directly related to the size of government; citizens have more confidence in local government, less confidence in state government,
    and least confidence in our federal government.

    READ MORE

  • Should Colorado Spend $50 Million On Studying Disney- Style Mountain Monorail?0

    Enough studies! If this tax grab passes, it will add, at minimum, another three years until we even begin to fix the traffic problem on I-70. Despite the impression given, this proposal does not build a monorail, or anything else, in the mountain corridor. It is just another study replicating work being done by the Colorado and Federal Departments of Transportation. It will, however, cost every couple in Colorado about $40 out of their tax refunds.

    READ MORE

  • Implementing a Just Tax System in Colorado and Strengthening Our Fiscal Constitution0

    Over much of our history Coloradans have successfully constrained the growth of government through our fiscal constitution. Our State Constitution embodied fiscal rules designed to constrain the power of government to tax and spend, rules requiring a balanced budget, debt limits, and voting and procedural rules. Our fiscal constitution has served us well; our state prospered due in no small part to the fiscal rules embodied in our constitution. However, in the post-WWII period it was clear that our fiscal rules were not constraining the growth of government. Both state and local governments increased taxes and spending grew at rates far in excess of the growth of the private economy. This unconstrained growth of government triggered a tax revolt beginning in the late 1970’s.

    READ MORE

  • Amendment 23: A Critique0

    The question asked in Amendment 23 is a very simple one: should the state raise taxes $11 billion? That is not, of course, how the proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution is presented by the teachers’ unions, but that is in fact what they are asking Colorado citizens to do. Since the teachers unions have obfuscated the issue, it is important to begin by showing how the proposed amendment would create this $11 billion fund which would mostly benefit the teachers’ union.

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  • Back To Basics For Tax Reform In Colorado0

    It is difficult to explain the 60 odd tax bills before the Colorado Legislature this year. Every interest group in the state seems to be clamoring for tax refunds, tax cuts, or expenditures of surplus revenue to benefit their interest group. If the legislature responds to these special interests this year, as they did last year, we will end up with more loopholes and more complexity in our tax system. We seem to have forgotten the lessons learned from the tax reforms launched by the Reagan revolution, and it is time for Colorado legislators to return to these basic principles of tax reform. I will discuss first the principles that should guide tax reform in Colorado, and then some of the proposed tax bills.

    READ MORE

Contact

Jake Fogleman, Director of Policy
Email: Jake@i2i.org
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext. 118

Nash Herman, Policy Analyst
Email: Nash@i2i.org
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext. 105

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