Coloradans Turn Down a Tax Grab
Republicans had little to cheer on Tuesday (see nearby), but one electoral silver lining came in a Democratic-controlled state. Coloradans delivered a victory for limited government by rejecting Gov. Jared Polis’s deceptive tax grab.
Voters delivered a clear verdict on Proposition HH, a ballot measure that would have raised the caps on what the statehouse can tax and spend. Gov. Polis and Democratic legislators put their weight behind the measure, hoping to haul in an additional $42 billion by 2040. Voters shot it down 60% to 40%.
The result preserves the full powers of Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which voters approved in 1992. The amendment limits state government revenue growth, and it mandates refunds if there’s a surplus—$750 for each taxpayer in 2022. The failed referendum would have given larger checks to the lowest earners but major cuts to the refunds for the middle and top.
Voters rejected Proposition HH despite the misleading label that Democrats slapped on it. They concealed their massive Tabor reform by attaching a modest property tax cut, not mentioning that the pair of changes would leave taxpayers about $21 billion in the red by 2040, according to the Common Sense Institute.
The Governor pushed the measure by conjuring a false sense of urgency. Property taxes are set to increase across Colorado by April, and Mr. Polis told the public that Proposition HH was his only plan to block the hikes.