Without Republican Support, Car Fee Hike One Too Many for Ritter March 5, 2008
Posted by bendegrow in Colorado Governor, Colorado Springs, Property tax increase, statewide.Tags: Gov. Bill Ritter, property tax hike, Republican backbone, Vehicle Registration Fees
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This morning the Denver Post reports that Gov. Bill Ritter is dropping the “hot potato” that would have hit all Colorado families with another $100 in vehicle registration fees. Of course, it’s important to note that it was Ritter who took the potato out of the oven after it had been thoroughly cooked by his blue ribbon commission.
Seems the governor was unable to get a single Republican in the legislature to sign on to “the bait and switch con game.” Kudos to the Republicans for showing some taxpayer-friendly backbone on this one. Meanwhile, the fact that Ritter is unwilling to push his fee hike forward without a Republican co-sponsor shows just how scared Democratic leaders are of being recognized as the party of tax increases.
It’s good to see another fiscally irresponsible proposal get shelved. Yet while the vehicle registration fee hot potato has rolled away for now, the property tax hike millstone is still slung securely around the shoulders of Ritter and his fellow Democrats in the state legislature.
Cross posted at Mount Virtus
‘The most hated tax in the state’ February 19, 2008
Posted by jgmpk in Colorado Legislature.1 comment so far
That’s what the Rocky calls Colorado’s business personal property tax, in a story on a bill to abolish it making its way through the legislature:
A Golden businessman jumped through hoops to figure out his business personal property tax bill, which came to a whopping $60.45.
Joe Schneckenburger, who owns rental property, complained to Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton. . . .
Opponents argue they pay sales tax when they buy computers, waste baskets, refrigerators, heavy equipment and such, and then pay corporate income taxes based on their profits. They question why on top of that they annually have to pay business personal property taxes on the equipment they own.
Naturally, the forms are labyrinthine:
The business personal property tax forms are based on deterioration schedules and are so time consuming — for the owner, the county and the state — that Rice estimated 42 percent of the revenue the tax brings in goes to administering it.
He introduced House Bill 1225, which would increase the number of small businesses that are exempt from paying the tax. Currently, businesses with less than $2,500 in taxable property are exempt. Rice’s bill raises the exemption to $7,000 over three years, with regular increases after that.
Under his bill, an additional 30,600 businesses would be exempt from paying what Rice called “a silly, complicated tax that no one can make sense of.”
The bill passed the House Finance Committee today.
What kinds of control on government spending growth work? February 18, 2008
Posted by davekopel in TABOR.add a comment
A new article in the Cato Journal, by Robert Krol, examines various strategies for limiting government spending growth. He finds several methods to have proven success: Tax and Expenditure Limits (such as those in Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights), balanced budget requirements (a long-standing requirement in Colorado), and citizen initiatives (part of the Colorado Constitution since the early 20th century). In contrast, two methods have been shown not to work: Rainy Day Funds (which are often used to avoid tax and spend limitations), and term limits (which are actually associated with higher spending; legislative, but not gubernatorial, term limits are associated with lower taxation).
So Much Tax Money, So Many Ways to Spend It February 18, 2008
Posted by awatcher in Uncategorized.Tags: Aspen Times, environmentalists, oil shale, Severance Tax
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There is a gusher of tax money awaiting those who can figure out how to tap and spend it, and the environmentalists are working over time to lay claim to it.
We have written earlier about the severance tax and how it could grow to unimaginable sums of money if and when the oil companies figure out how to recover one million barrels of oil per acre from oil shale lands.
The environmentalist extremists have set their sights on that money and the power it would bring if only they could control it. The Aspen Times reports:
Environmentalists introduced four ballot proposals Thursday to increase the taxes paid by the oil and gas industry as they seek to build support for a statewide campaign.
The move comes as state lawmakers and the governor are still considering whether to ask voters to increase the state’s severance tax this year.
The coalition, which includes Trout Unlimited, Environmental Defense, The Wilderness Society and others, wants to use the estimated $200 to $300 million the proposed hikes could generate to boost renewable energy, protect wildlife habitat and help communities impacted by the boom. Joe Neuhof, West Slope field director for the Colorado Environmental Coalition, said some coalition members have been involved in the Capitol discussions about whether to raise Colorado’s tax — the second-lowest in the West — but wanted to put forward their priorities for how the money should be spent as they continue to talk.
These people aren’t thinking small:
The four ballot proposals include different combinations of getting rid of the current tax exemption for small wells, adding an extra 3 percent tax for all oil and gas wells and setting a new 10 percent tax rate for wells that produce more than $300,000 a year. Some would also bar energy companies from deducting their property tax in calculating the severance tax they owe.
One of the more likely goals of imposing a 10% severance tax is to slow down or even stop oil and gas development in the state. Oil shale recovery has been delayed in part because of technology, but also because the proposed technology is so expensive. If the environmentalists could add an extra 10% to the costs of recovery, they might be able to make it impossible to recover oil shale economically until the price of a barrel of oil hit $150.
In addition, by putting a dollar threshold at which taxes begin to be collected, they can depress the production of working wells. As the price of oil and gas inevitably rise, every well will hit that threshold, but the owners will want to curtail production to avoid the tax.
This just follows the usual pattern. If there is to be a tax increase, wouldn’t it be better if the proceeds went to more normal government activities such as funding higher education, building prisons, or building and maintaining roads?
Date Set for Tax Hike Showdown February 11, 2008
Posted by bendegrow in Colorado Governor, Property tax increase, statewide, TABOR.Tags: Bob Schaffer, Colorado Board of Education, Colorado Supreme Court, Face the State, Gov. Bill Ritter, Janet Rowland, Mesa County, Property Tax Increase
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Face the State has the latest on the court case requesting a vote of the people on Gov. Bill Ritter’s statewide property tax increase:
The State Board of Education, claiming that CDE is the wrong agency to be targeted, has asked the court to be removed as a defendant. Meanwhile, Ritter has sought to intervene as defendant. A Denver District Court hearing has been set for May 5.
State Board of Education member Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, believes Ritter has a lot at stake in the courts’ pending decision, having approved a property tax hike over the objections of the state’s attorney general.
“He has a clear interest in proving the attorney general wrong,” said Schaffer. “While the massive tax increase bill was passing, the legislature and governor understood that they were likely in violation of the law and the constitution.”
I know, I know. The money from the property tax increase is supposed to be “for the children.” Clearly, since I want to honor the state constitution and have the people of Colorado vote first, this makes me very cold and heartless person. (more…)
Roads & Bridges Shut Out, Maybe February 5, 2008
Posted by awatcher in Uncategorized.add a comment
The Gazette isn’t very happy that Bill Ritter isn’t buying us new roads and bridges:
Switching from practical to principled arguments, of the big three issues competing for Ritter’s support, education and health care are not really government’s business; transportation is. Proponents for more government involvement in education and health care like to point out that the free market doesn’t work in those areas. Actually, it does, it just doesn’t work in ways those folks like. The market allocates limited resources to the places consumers deem them most needed.
Of course, Bill Ritter wants it both ways. He wants the legislature to take the heat on the $100 “fee” while he goes to the voters on another subject.
“Great Caesar’s Ghost!”: Exposing Knee-Jerk Tax Increases “For the Children” January 24, 2008
Posted by bendegrow in Colorado Governor, Property tax increase, statewide, TABOR.Tags: Amendment 23, education funding, Gov. Bill Ritter, per-pupil spending, property tax, TABOR
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On the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel site, Rick Wagner takes a club to the constant screams of interest groups for more money to fund K-12 education. Most amusing was this hypothetical dialogue and subsequent comment:
Government: “There’s a crisis in education. Something must be done immediately! The children’s achievement level is shocking. All that can be known with certainty is that it has nothing to do with my prior policies and the only solution is more money.”
Taxpayer: “Is that really the solution? Maybe we should look at our methods first.”
Government: “Great Caesar’s Ghost man! There is no time for that. We need money now! Why do you hate children?”
When we pursue questions about why achievement is so lacking, we are usually rewarded with a discussion having something to do with Bush, TABOR, Reagan, evil conservatives and tax cuts for the wealthy.
The actual problem in Colorado is that we have a system under the disastrous Amendment 23 that requires increased education funding no matter what the result. How many successful systems exist that are premised on a continuous increase in resources unrestricted by results?
It’s an important reminder that lawmakers and bureaucrats have an easier time accessing the taxpayer’s pocketbook when they frame the issue in the interest of schools and children. It worked for Amendment 23. More recently, Gov. Ritter did just that with his statewide property tax increase, but didn’t even bother to ask the voters as the state constitution requires.
Of course, our schools need some amount of resources to function well. But seldom if ever do you see any serious ideas about restructuring the education system to ensure money is spent with a high level of efficiency. The results are there to show that spending more has very little or no relationship with academic performance or growth.
Yet as surely as the sun will come up tomorrow, you can expect cries for more money based on some calculation that compares our state to the national average of education spending in some area or another. Is the national average of educational performance better than in Colorado? Not exactly. Well, then, somebody has got some explaining to do.
Colorado spends more than $9,000 per student in our K-12 public schools. Is the money really being spent as wisely as it could be, if we just had the political will to fix the system? The sad answer is it takes less political will to cajole a little more money from each of us than to do the hard work of reform.
Another Month, Another Tax January 18, 2008
Posted by awatcher in Uncategorized.Tags: Bob Ewegen, Denver Post, Gas Tax, Monthly Tax Increase Proposal
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We’re curious if anyone has noticed a pattern with the Denver Post editorial pages. Like clockwork they propose a new tax once a month. The latest is a hefty Federal gas tax.
Usually, the author of these monthly tax increase articles is Bob Ewegen. We have noted here and elsewhere that this monthly pattern exists with him. This time, the author hid behind the “Denver Editorial Board” byline. Care to bet this is Bob again?
“Freeze” mocked January 11, 2008
Posted by jgmpk in Property tax increase, statewide.add a comment
The Post‘s token conservative (bet he hates being called that) David Harsanyi’s piece today ripping Gov. Ritter’s magical ballooning property tax freeze (which CUT blogger bendegrow was staggered by a couple of days ago) is both funny and horrifying:
Approximately 90 percent of Colorado’s elected officials blatantly deceive taxpayers.
Now, that’s just an estimate. You see, when you “estimate,” you can say anything. . . .
Turns out that Ritter’s property-tax “freeze” is now “estimated” to generate $2 billion more in revenue than lawmakers “estimated” when approving the deal eight months ago. When the legislature first said yes, it was “estimated” at $48 million yearly. Then it was “estimated” at $114 million. Where it will be “estimated” next nobody knows.
Amendment 23, Ref. C and, forebodingly, TABOR are mentioned.
Colorado Union of Taxpayers Weblog 