Tax Reform

Colorado Keeps TABOR: Jonathan Williams on American Radio Journal

TABOR is the gold standard for limiting government taxing and spending, and it puts taxpayers in the driver's seat for those decisions in Colorado.

In his latest American Radio Journal commentary, ALEC EVP of Policy and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams on Colorado’s Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights surviving yet another attempt to destroy it.

Depending on your political persuasion, this week was either a major win, a horrible loss or a mixed bag. In cheerful news, voters in Colorado have retained one of the most important pieces of their state’s policy environment. On Election Day, Colorado voters were asked to vote on a ballot measure with huge implications for the future of Colorado’s taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). I’ve covered many times before that TABOR is the gold standard for state limits on the growth of government taxing and spending and it puts taxpayers in the driver’s seat for those decisions in Colorado.

Williams explains further how the ballot initiative, Proposition HH, would have been a risk to Colorado taxpayers in the long term.

Proposition HH was a bait and switch that promised many school property tax cuts in return for substantial government spending increases over time and the eventual elimination of tax refunds triggered by Tabor limits in tax revenue. Thankfully, Colorado voters overwhelmingly said no to Proposition HH this week by roughly a 60 to 40 margin, and TABOR still stands strong as the gold standard for state tax limits.

Listen to the full interview below.


In Depth: Tax Reform

Mainstream economists, small business owners and taxpayers across the country understand that growth-oriented reforms mean increased opportunity for all. As demonstrated by the annual Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, sound tax and fiscal policies are critical to economic health, allowing businesses and households to flourish. A…

+ Tax Reform In Depth