Independence Institute Launches Tax Reduction Ballot Initiative
To “Energize our Economy” Independence Institute Launches Tax Reduction Ballot Initiative May 18, 2020 Denver – Independence Institute, Colorado’s free-market think tank, announces its petition drive launch today of a ballot initiative that will reduce the flat Colorado state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55%. The signature gathering process for Initiative #306 will begin today. […]
House Bill 1187: Why should state government get to spend more just because people work more?
Increasing state spending as population grows assumes that larger populations require more government services. This may not always be the case, but it at least refrains from taxing people simply because they work harder.
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 […]
Counting the Cash Again: An Update on Colorado School Finance
School finance is a constant topic of interest in Colorado education discussions. However, the complex nature of school finance means that many do not feel adequately prepared to meaningfully participate in these conversations. In his latest publication, Senior Education Policy Analyst Ross Izard provides the information needed to have honest, accurate discussions of Colorado’s school finance […]
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.
Who Pays Colorado Taxes?
Linda Gorman writes about the 38 percent increase in Colorado state spending.
In 2013, Get Ready For An ObamaCare Tax Onslaught
At Forbes.com, Grace-Marie Turner summarizes the new taxes imposed by Obamacare: (1) Medical Device Tax; (2) A new Surtax on Investment Income; (3) A new Medicare Tax; (4) The new Flexible Spending Account Tax; (5)ObamaCare also tightens the screws on Itemized Medical Deductions. Continue reading
The Obama Administration’s Illegal Health Care Taxes: an Update
There have been several developments with respect to the Obama administration’s attempt to impose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s employer-mandate penalties and individual-mandate penalties where it has no authority to do so. Continue reading
Regardless of fiscal cliff, ObamaCare will make you pay more in taxes
Cliff or no cliff, taxes will go way up next year because of Obamacare. Continue reading
Does Colorado Fail to Spend State Taxes on Services?
Policy debates frequently turn on whether the government is spending at a reasonable level, and that is defined by the relative spending in other states. Relatively low rankings are presumed to indicate of under-spending by Colorado governments. The low rankings, however, are inconsistent with Colorado’s overall ranking for tax burden, which is close to the national median. We examine many claims relating to Colorado government spending overall, in K-12 education, in higher education, and in healthcare, and we conclude that most are misinterpreted or overstated. Colorado collects the national average in taxes,
so how could it be that support for government programs is so uniformly near the bottom?
Medical device tax: “less innovation, fewer jobs, & and fewer lives saved,” says ZOLL Medical president
Another reason to fight against ObamaCare. Continue reading
