Contact Lance Cayko
Cell 303.775.7406
Email CommunicationsDirector@LPColorado.org
Website www.LPColorado.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/14/19
TABOR IS UNDER ATTACK (AGAIN) BY THE STATEHOUSE
BY JOHN PICKERILL
Our Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR) is once again under attack by politicians in state legislature. This time it is coming in the form of “Proposition CC” which will appear on your November ballot. Prop CC is set to dismantle one of the most critical taxpayer protections in TABOR.
So why is TABOR so important that we should even care that it’s under attack? Because our TABOR is one of the biggest reasons Colorado has the strongest economy in the United States.
US New & World Report just ranked us the #1 economy again. That’s three years in a row now. US News bases its ranking on three things: Business environment, employment, and growth. And when it looks at business environment it looks at a state’s overall tax burden, and we can thank TABOR keeping it low and stable. US News also looks at how many private sector businesses were created, how many patents were granted, and how much venture capital was invested in the state. When taxes are low and predictable, it attracts entrepreneurs and investors. US News explains, “Inventors, entrepreneurs, and out-of-box thinkers thrive in environments where they can push the status quo, and often flock to the same areas of the U.S., where they can pursue their business aspirations surrounded by fellow innovators.” That’s Colorado. And that’s why we can easily find good- paying jobs compared to other states. It’s why we’re the envy of the nation.
TABOR stops politicians in the statehouse from taxing you to death. It lets you decide how best to spend that money you worked so hard to earn. It lets you decide how best to use your money to improve your life or which charitable cause to donate it to improve someone else’s life. It lets small businesses keep more of their money so they can survive, grow, and create more jobs for us, and provide us the products we need to enjoy a livable, sustainable community.
TABOR requires politicians to ask us, the voters, permission before raising taxes on us. And if government takes in tax revenue faster than the rate of inflation and population, TABOR requires the politicians to give that excess back to us taxpayers. TABOR holds the line and maintains that low and predictable tax burden.
If Proposition CC is approved in November, politicians will suddenly be able to keep that excess without getting the taxpayers’ permission. To add insult to injury, Prop CC does this by trying to amend Article X of the state constitution without receiving two-thirds approval of both houses of the General Assembly, something clearly required by our state constitution.
Each of us will have less money in our wallets. Our quality of life will go down. And businesses won’t grow as much or create as many jobs.
Colorado Springs understands this better than any city in Colorado. US News ranked Colorado Springs #2 out of the entire nation for best places to live. And so the staff of the Colorado Springs Gazette published an editorial on June 21 titled, “Defend taxpayer consent in Colorado by defeating Prop CC,” pointing out how well TABOR has protected the Colorado economy, that it’s because Colorado is the only state that has TABOR written into its constitution, which is why Colorado enjoys the nation’s best economy, and why Colorado has two of the best cities in the nation in which to live. Since TABOR passed in 1992, Colorado attracted small and big business and all assortment of entrepreneurs who like the stable tax environment provided by the public’s right to consent.
Politicians despise TABOR. And according to the Gazette, they want more despite the fact they are awash in more than $1 billion in surplus money annually even after they return our other money that exceeds the TABOR limit. If these politicians get their way, they will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
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John Pickerill sits on the board of directors for the Libertarian Party of Colorado and is the organizing chairman of the Libertarian Party of Pueblo & Otero Counties. He advocates for individual liberty, free market economics, private property rights, and Constitutionally-limited government.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Lance Cayko at 303.775.7406 or email at CommunicationsDirector@LPColorado.org.
