Coloradans Can Expect Far More Complicated Taxes if Progressive Income Tax Passes
Initiative 181 would greatly complicate your tax return.
Split Decision: Two New TABOR Cases
The Colorado Supreme Court, in a break with its long hostility to TABOR, finally did the right thing.
The Case Against a ‘Progressive’ Income Tax in Colorado
The battle over Colorado’s future tax system has officially begun, and the stakes for families, businesses, and the state’s economy couldn’t be higher. Backed by a coalition of advocacy groups that consistently push for higher taxes as the solution to Colorado’s challenges, the Bell Policy Center submitted proposed language for the 2026 ballot that would […]
Denver’s budget mess—the cost of “progressive” policies
Here’s the political lesson, Colorado: Socialist and other leftist policies screw things up. Free market policies make life good. It seems to be a law of nature, like gravitation.
Colorado Lawmakers’ Absurd Proposal to Void TABOR
The Colorado constitution as adopted in 1876 was admitted by all to be republican in form. But it imposed far more limits on the legislature’s financial powers than TABOR does.
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.
HJR 1023: Colorado lawmakers’ constitutional ignorance on display
When the federal government certified the Colorado Constitution as “republican” in 1876, the Colorado constitution limited the legislature more than TABOR does.
Senate Bill 138: Putting broad-based tax relief ahead of special interests
New legislation has been introduced that is crucial towards creating a more sustainable state budget, as well as putting broad-based income tax relief for Coloradans ahead of special interest loopholes. Senate Bill 25-138, sponsored by Sen. John Carson, a Republican from Douglas County, improves on a similar bill passed last year by first reducing the […]
Review of Colorado’s Property Taxes and Model Policy
Over the last few years, Colorado’s property tax system has been the subject of considerable debate and efforts toward reform. Rapidly rising residential property values and a structure that gave relief to residential owners, but not commercial property owners, pushed the issue to the fore of the state’s fiscal discussion.
How New 2024 Tax Expenditures Undermine TABOR
Governor Jared Polis has been a consistent advocate for eliminating the state income tax, or at least “buying it down” through the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) surplus. This year, Polis claimed that legislation passed in 2024 did “deliver on that promise” to reduce the income tax rate, but Independence Institute’s research finds that legislation […]
Bishop: CO Legislature using TABOR refunds to pay for special interest tax benefits
With the public distracted by gun control, abortion, and other hot-button issues, the Democrat-controlled Colorado legislature is quietly advancing nearly two dozen bills to redistribute your taxpayer refund to special interests. The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) in Colorado’s Constitution requires the state to refund excess tax revenue back to taxpayers. The state cannot spend this surplus […]
Five fiscal policy issues to watch in the 2023 legislative session
Voters gave Colorado Democrats a decisive victory in this year’s state races, yet they also passed Independence Institute’s income tax cut by approving Proposition 121. While they elect left-of-center candidates, they continue to expect low taxes and fiscal restraint by their government. As recently as 2018, Republicans controlled the Colorado senate and served as a […]
