Soon after I first explained that Colorado taxpayers keeping more of their own money under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is actually a good thing, more false claims about the OBBBA, as well as Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) materialized. As soon as I rectified those misconceptions, a Colorado Sun article presented The post Progressive press blames Colorado voters for state budget hole first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Progressive press blames Colora...| Independence Institute
As expected, the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is sparking political battles in Colorado, with the two most common misconceptions of the bill’s impact on the Colorado budget being fueled by muddled rhetoric and flimsy logic. Claim 1: Blame the OBBBA Colorado’s progressive legislators are out in full force, denouncing the OBBBA The post Dems desperate to deflect blame for self-inflicted budget wound first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Dems desperate to...| Independence Institute
Have Colorado lawmakers cried wolf about the state’s budget too many times? The state legislature, after recently reconciling a billion-dollar “budget shortfall” due mostly to a relentless overspending habit, is now back in the barber chair for yet another fiscal haircut. And while legislators are still overspending and overpromising, state revenue reductions from taxpayer-friendly policy| Independence Institute - Think Freedom
Now that ECCA the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has been enacted, I wanted to take a dive into some of the numbers. More specifically, I wanted to see what shook … The post What Are the Income Cut-Offs for the New Federal Tax-Credit Scholarship Program? appeared first on EdChoice.| EdChoice
Understanding the dollars behind education Ask just about anyone who funds public schools, and you’re likely to hear the same answer: “Taxpayers.” That’s true—but not the whole story. Which taxpayers? … The post Who Pays for Public Schools? appeared first on EdChoice.| EdChoice
It is something of a cliche to argue that Britain is running out of money, living beyond its means, wandering through a fiscal fool’s paradise – but no less true for that. The trend of …| Freethinking Economist
Colorado’s “free” school lunch program could finally be getting a well-deserved reality check, depending on what voters have to say about it come November. Governor Polis recently signed two bills concerning the state’s Healthy School Meals for All program (HSMA): House Bill 25-1274, which essentially asks voters to both de-TABOR existing revenue as well as The post Colorado voters get another bite at ‘free’ school lunch apple first appeared on Independence Institute. The post...| Independence Institute
Governor Polis recently signed into law a Joint Budget Committee (JBC) sponsored bill that changes the availability of two of the state’s most significant tax credits. House Bill 25-1335 was prompted by a pair of cautious forecasts conducted by the Legislative Council Staff (LCS) and the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) in The post House Bill 1335: Colorado’s sweetheart tax credits breaking the bank first appeared on Independence Institute. The post House Bill ...| Independence Institute
Despite Colorado’s $1.2 billion budget deficit, increasing regulatory woes, and a souring economic outlook, the state legislature continues to proliferate new legislation that promises to increase government size and spending. The 120-day 2025 legislative session is beyond the halfway point, and Colorado’s 35 senators and 65 representatives have introduced over 500 bills so far, with The post Legislative binge ongoing despite billion-dollar budget gap first appeared on Independence Inst...| Independence Institute
Below are multiple interactive charts that display data collected from Colorado General Assembly fiscal reports from the 2025 regular legislative session. The state legislature is beyond the midpoint of the 120-day regular session, which started in January and ends in May. The data below presents the FTE/fiscal impact of every proposed legislation introduced in the| Independence Institute - Think Freedom
It is well known by now that Colorado’s budget is on an unsustainable path. While there’s considerable disagreement about what is driving the issue and what the solution might be, one thing is for sure: trying to lay blame on the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) is just pure deflection. As I have written previously, The post Colorado’s spending joyride on a collision course with reality first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Colorado’s spending joyride on a collis...| Independence Institute
New legislation has been introduced that is crucial towards creating a more sustainable state budget, as well as putting broad-based income tax relief for Coloradans ahead of special interest loopholes. Senate Bill 25-138, sponsored by Sen. John Carson, a Republican from Douglas County, improves on a similar bill passed last year by first reducing the The post Senate Bill 138: Putting broad-based tax relief ahead of special interests first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Senate B...| Independence Institute
Colorado legislators are discovering first-hand the impossibility of having their cake and eating it too. The Joint Budget Committee continues to meet with dozens of departments to reconcile an approximately $750 million budget shortfall in 2025, with some absurdly claiming that deficit is purely a result of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) at work. The post Colorado Legislature’s Over-Spending Problem Explained first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Colorado Legislatur...| Independence Institute
The University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business recently released their 60th annual Business Outlook for 2025, and, despite a moderate outlook in 2025, the report includes some disturbing trends in the Colorado economy. Let’s take a look at some of what’s going wrong. Troubling trends As pointed out by Denver Post business writer Aldo Svaldi, Colorado was the| Independence Institute - Think Freedom
Over the last few years, Colorado’s property tax system has been the subject of considerable debate and efforts toward reform. Rapidly rising residential property values and a structure that gave relief to residential owners, but not commercial property owners, pushed the issue to the fore of the state’s fiscal discussion. The post Review of Colorado’s Property Taxes and Model Policy first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Review of Colorado’s Property Taxes and Model Pol...| Independence Institute
By Nash Herman In a frenzy to counter proposed Initiatives 50 and 108, Colorado legislators successfully passed new property tax legislation during the August special session. HB24B-1001, the “deal bill,” was created to convince the creators of 50 and 108 to remove the two initiatives from the November ballot. Unsatisfied with the property tax bill The post Another Special Session on Property Taxes: What Changed? first appeared on Independence Institute. The post Another Special Session o...| Independence Institute
Executive Summary Coloradans have several options to try to address rising property taxes in 2024. The state legislature passed SB24-233 with bipartisan support at the end of the 2024 legislative session. Voters could choose to keep SB24-233 or eschew the bill for either or both Initiatives 50 and 108. Despite being a better alternative The post 2024 Property Tax Reform: The Choices Before Colorado Voters first appeared on Independence Institute. The post 2024 Property Tax Reform: Th...| Independence Institute
Governor Jared Polis has been a consistent advocate for eliminating the state income tax, or at least “buying it down” through the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) surplus. This year, Polis claimed that legislation passed in 2024 did “deliver on that promise” to reduce the income tax rate, but Independence Institute’s research finds that legislation The post How New 2024 Tax Expenditures Undermine TABOR first appeared on Independence Institute. The post How New 2024 Tax Expenditu...| Independence Institute
Jo Michell has written a good piece in Tribune countering arguments from some on the Left around the necessity of taxation. It’s a short piece that you should read, but I understood it as goin…| principlesandinterest
An idea you’ll likely hate. Monetary policy is pretty much universally understood to be the only fast and responsive macroeconomic policy lever. I mean, maybe you could make a case for foreign exch…| principlesandinterest
