Colorado voters handed the state’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the Democrat-led legislature a resounding defeat Tuesday by voting “no” on Proposition HH, the Property Tax Changes and Revenue Change Measure.
Colorado taxpayers are blessed with the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), a state constitutional amendment that requires voters’ approval to raise certain taxes. Without voters’ approval, the state must refund excess revenue back to taxpayers. Thus, single filers in Colorado received a refund of $750 per person last year, and this year the refund is expected to be more than $800. Although Colorado has become a deep-blue state, TABOR has restricted Colorado Democrats from imposing ruinous California-style tax hikes on Coloradoans.
Colorado Democrats, seeking unlimited government power and spending, have waged wars against TABOR for decades, including ballot measures and lawsuits. Proposition HH was Colorado Democrats’ latest attempt to get rid of TABOR. Polis insisted that Prop HH was “the only way to prevent devastating tax increases while preserving TABOR refunds.” The “Yes on HH” group repeated Polis’ false claim on its website and mailers.
Yet, according to the Denver-based Independence Institute, “Prop HH would not reduce property taxes, and it would not control future growth in property taxes.” Instead, the measure is “a back-door tax hike that takes away TABOR refunds,” and “over two decades, it allows the state to keep and spend an additional $65 billion and nearly $200 billion over three decades.” The Common Sense Institute estimated Prop HH would “result in a personal income loss of $425 per household and cost CO more than 14,000 jobs.”
