Is Voting on Taxes Unconstitutional?

A constitutional lawsuit against TABOR would have no objective merit, but the Colorado Supreme Court’s persistent hostility to TABOR might induce it to rule for the plaintiffs anyway.

Denver, Colorado Sales Taxes Increased Without Voter Consent

Denver’s 2021 budget reveals that the city expects to collect $14 million in new sales tax revenues this year by taking advantage of a 2018 United States Supreme Court ruling for the first time. The State of Colorado began collecting new sales tax revenues under the same scheme in 2019. These tax increases have come […]

The big winner tonight is… TABOR!

As I’m watching the numbers roll in tonight from Colorado’s primary elections, I just had to tell you what the news might not pick up on, even if they noticed it. The big winner in tonight’s Republican Primary is our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. You might recall last year several weak-kneed Republicans in the state […]

Join the TABOR offensive!

The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is universally despised, neigh, deplored by every tax-happy progressive around the country. Ever wonder why it’s like sunlight to a vampire to them, and why they’ve weakened it in court-ruling after court-ruling for 25 years? Then please join us on Monday, April 23, in Colorado Springs for our first stop […]

Why date rapists hate TABOR

by Jon Caldara The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights does NOT limit tax and spending. In fact, TABOR allows Colorado governments, all 3,700 of them, to rake in and keep unlimited amounts of money and heap unlimited amounts of debt upon your children. It requires you merely be asked first. That’s it. Ask first. You won’t […]

All the taxes you cannot see

by Jon Caldara Seeing is believing. So, it’s no wonder many in government prefer to work in the dark. It’s not just that they don’t want us to know what they’re fully doing. They don’t want us to know what we’re fully paying. The reason for this emotional manipulation is clear. If the cost of […]

Two Decades of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR)

Over two decades have passed since 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. This Issue Paper analyzes TABOR’s effect on state government spending and taxes by examining three decades: The 1983-92 pre-TABOR decade; the first decade of TABOR, 1993-2002; and the second decade, 2003-12. The final decade included the largest tax increase in Colorado history, enacted as Referendum C in 2005. Decade-2 was also marked by increasing efforts to evade TABOR by defining nearly 60% of the state budget as “exempt” from TABOR.

Supreme Court’s Order Great for TABOR

For a video in which Rob and Justin Longo talk about the Arizona Legislature case and why it is good for TABOR, click here. A slightly abbreviated form of this article first appeared in the Denver Post. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order in the case against Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is a […]

New Study Shows Campaign Disclosure Rules Violate First Amendment

This article was first published at the American Thinker website. Many commentators and politicians have attacked the Supreme Court’s 2010 case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for holding that citizens do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they organize under state corporation law. The Vermont state legislature has even adopted an application […]

Colorado Goes to the Supreme Court to Defend TABOR

Three years ago, a group of primarily government plaintiffs sued in federal district court to void Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). TABOR allows the people, not just the legislature, to vote on most tax increases, most debt increases, and some spending hikes. The plaintiffs argued that the 20-year old state constitutional provision violated the […]

The Court of Appeals’ Anti-TABOR Decision

The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently refused to dismiss the suit by various public sector interests to invalidate Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). The plaintiffs claim that TABOR violates Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. That provision is called the Guarantee Clause because it guarantees that the […]

The Court of Appeals' Anti-TABOR Decision

The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently refused to dismiss the suit by various public sector interests to invalidate Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). The plaintiffs claim that TABOR violates Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. That provision is called the Guarantee Clause because it guarantees that the […]