Norquist & Gleason: Fate our nation's most important taxpayer protection measure hangs in the balance

The 2020 presidential campaign is dominating media coverage, but in just a few days, on Nov. 5, the voters (not a poll) of the battleground state of Colorado will determine the future of the nation’s strongest and most effective tax and expenditure limitation measure, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Approved by more than 53 percent of voters in 1992, Colorado's TABOR mandates that state revenue cannot grow faster than the combined rate of inflation and population growth. State revenue collected in excess of the TABOR cap is refunded to taxpayers. TABOR also requires lawmakers to get voter approval for all tax increases.

It is projected that Colorado state government will have to refund roughly $500 million to Colorado taxpayers in 2020 due to revenue collections coming in above the TABOR cap. The progressive Democrats who run Colorado’s state legislature and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis are working to prevent those and all future refunds from happening with a measure referred to the November 2019 ballot that seeks to kill the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

GROVER NORQUIST: ELIZABETH WARREN WANTS TO RAISE TAXES FOR MIDDLE-CLASS AMERICANS — NOT JUST THE RICH

Proposition CC, which will appear on the statewide ballot in Colorado this fall, asks Colorado voters to allow state government to keep money that is supposed to be sent back to taxpayers in accordance with TABOR. Passage of Proposition CC would mean the end of the TABOR and the result would be a significantly higher tax burden in perpetuity for individuals, families, and employers across Colorado.

However if Colorado voters were to reject Proposition CC this November, it would send a strong message that should concern politicians looking to raise taxes, which includes every Democrat running for president. Rejection of CC would send the message that Colorado voters, who elected a Democratic-controlled state government less than a year ago, support the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and want politicians to stop cooking up new ways to kill it.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER

Polis and the other Boulder progressives who run the Colorado legislature complain that TABOR prevents them from implementing their plans for higher taxes and new spending. That is a feature of TABOR, not a bug.

"If Proposition CC passes on November’s ballot, gutting the public’s right to consent, Colorado’s economy will suffer,” the Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board wrote earlier this summer. This is correct. TABOR is key to Colorado’s economic success.

Colorado’s state government is run by Democrats who want California-style high tax rates and heavy regulation. TABOR acts as a fiscal straight jacket, preventing the far-left Democrats who run the show in Denver from passing their craziest ideas for siphoning more revenue out of the productive economy and growing state government.

“TABOR’s restraint on … out-of-control tax and spending habits is the driving factor in attracting business investment and talented people to Colorado,”Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, pointed out in a June 28 Denver Post column. Even those who once sought to weaken TABOR in the past, such as former Republican Gov. Bill Owen, recognize that Proposition CC would do serious harm to the Colorado economy.

“Having served as governor when Referendum C passed in 2005, I understand the difference between short-term adjustments during funding crises and permanent blank checks that the state government too often wishes it could write itself,” said Owen. “Proposition CC is the latter, and for the sake of future generations of Colorado taxpayers, I urge voters to reject it in November.”

Presidential contenders and others running for federal office should pay attention to what happens in Colorado this November. Every Democratic candidate for president has promised massive tax increases if they win. If a battleground state that just elected a progressive-run state government votes to uphold the nation’s strongest taxpayer protection measure, it will indicate that plans to run on a platform of raising taxes is not the smartest approach for 2020 hopefuls to take.

The 2020 presidential campaign is dominating media coverage, but on Nov. 5, the voters (not a poll) in the battleground state of Colorado will determine the future of the nation’s strongest and most effective tax and expenditure limitation measure, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Approved by more than 53 percent of voters in 1992, Colorado's TABOR mandates that state revenue cannot grow faster than the combined rate of inflation and population growth. State revenue collected in excess of the TABOR cap is refunded to taxpayers. TABOR also requires lawmakers to get voter approval for all tax increases.

It is projected that Colorado's state government will have to refund roughly $500 million to Colorado taxpayers in 2020 due to revenue collections coming in above the TABOR cap. The progressive Democrats who run Colorado’s state legislature and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis are working to prevent those and all future refunds from happening with a measure referred to the November 2019 ballot that seeks to kill the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

GROVER NORQUIST: ELIZABETH WARREN WANTS TO RAISE TAXES FOR MIDDLE-CLASS AMERICANS — NOT JUST THE RICH

Proposition CC, which will appear on the statewide ballot in Colorado this fall, asks Colorado voters to allow state government to keep money that is supposed to be sent back to taxpayers in accordance with TABOR. Passage of Proposition CC would mean the end of the TABOR and the result would be a significantly higher tax burden in perpetuity for individuals, families, and employers across Colorado.

However, if Colorado voters were to reject Proposition CC this November, it would send a strong message that should concern politicians looking to raise taxes, which includes every Democrat running for president. Rejection of CC would send the message that Colorado voters, who elected a Democratic-controlled state government less than a year ago, support the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and want politicians to stop cooking up new ways to kill it.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER

Polis and the other Boulder progressives who run the Colorado legislature complain that TABOR prevents them from implementing their plans for higher taxes and new spending. That is a feature of TABOR, not a bug.

"If Proposition CC passes on November’s ballot, gutting the public’s right to consent, Colorado’s economy will suffer,” the Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board wrote earlier this summer. This is correct. TABOR is key to Colorado’s economic success.

Colorado’s state government is run by Democrats who want California-style high tax rates and heavy regulation. TABOR acts as a fiscal straight jacket, preventing the far-left Democrats who run the show in Denver from passing their craziest ideas for siphoning more revenue out of the productive economy and growing state government.

“TABOR’s restraint on … out-of-control tax and spending habits is the driving factor in attracting business investment and talented people to Colorado,” Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, pointed out in a June 28 Denver Post column. Even those who once sought to weaken TABOR in the past, such as former Republican Gov. Bill Owen, recognize that Proposition CC would do serious harm to the Colorado economy.

“Having served as governor when Referendum C passed in 2005, I understand the difference between short-term adjustments during funding crises and permanent blank checks that the state government too often wishes it could write itself,” said Owen. “Proposition CC is the latter, and for the sake of future generations of Colorado taxpayers, I urge voters to reject it in November.”

Presidential contenders and others running for federal office should pay attention to what happens in Colorado this November. Every Democratic candidate for president has promised massive tax increases if they win. If a battleground state that just elected a progressive-run state government votes to uphold the nation’s strongest taxpayer protection measure, it will indicate that plans to run on a platform of raising taxes is not the smartest approach for for 2020 hopefuls to take.

Patrick Gleason is the vice president of state affairs at Americans for Tax Reform.