A measure on the 2020 ballot in Colorado proposes a permanent cut to the state’s income tax rate that would give the average taxpayer a $37 break annually. The limited-government conservatives and Republican lawmakers backing Proposition 116 say the tax relief comes at a crucial moment amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. The […]
Independence Institute
Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government
Gov. Jared Polis praises Republican-backed ballot question to lower Colorado income taxes
A Republican-authored measure to cut Colorado’s state income taxes amid the economic crisis may have an unlikely ally when it appears on the November ballot: Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. In a brief interview with The Colorado Sun, Polis praised the intent of Initiative 306, a ballot measure that would permanently reduce the state income tax […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Now that Colorado lawmakers have put Gallagher repeal on the ballot, will they actually be able to pass it?
When the General Assembly two years ago agreed to study the state’s dysfunctional property tax code, reform advocates were optimistic that years of warnings would finally lead to action. A bipartisan panel came up with a variety of options to repeal and replace the Gallagher Amendment, the constitutional measure that for decades has squeezed essential […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Wyoming coal interests funneled money, experts to influence Colorado PUC decision on closing parts of Pueblo plant
When Xcel Energy proposed shuttering two coal-fired power generating units at Comanche Station in Pueblo, a group of “small business” customers intervened to oppose the closure. The group, organized by the Independence Institute, did not reveal it received backing from Wyoming coal interests. The Coalition of Ratepayers, formed by the libertarian-leaning Independence Institute, said in […]
Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government
The tax fight continues in Colorado as liberal group files 35 more ideas for the 2020 ballot
If the fight over Colorado tax policy were a sporting event, half the stadium might have emptied out by now. With the November defeat of Proposition CC, the score has become so lopsided in favor of fiscal conservatives, the outcome of any given skirmish over the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is starting to feel like […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation
$10 million poured into 2019 election, but big money couldn’t push Proposition CC to passage
Advocates for Proposition CC outspent the opposition by more than double but still lost in the statewide November election. The two campaign committees behind the ballot question — Coloradans for Prosperity and Great Education Colorado — spent a combined $4.5 million on the failed effort, according to final campaign finance reports filed late last week. […]
Posted inBusiness, Education, Politics and Government
Dark money and big donors fuel the ballot battle over Proposition CC in Colorado
Big money is pouring into the Proposition CC campaign – and Colorado voters may never find out where much of it is coming from. That’s because dark-money nonprofits are contributing heavily to supporters and opponents of the 2019 ballot question to end TABOR revenue limits. That dark money — totaling nearly $3 million — is […]
Posted inSun Investigation
Gov. Jared Polis recall effort mired by infighting and legal questions about donors, review finds
A committee to recall Gov. Jared Polis has raised more than $100,000 since March, but its reports are littered with errors and its online donors don’t always match the information it gives the state. Nearly 120 of the 1,337 itemized individual donations to the Official Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis committee don’t have the required […]