Mesa County Board of County Commissioners v. Colorado, |
Question: Does the Colorado Constitution allow School Financing Act amendments that increase taxes without voter approval? What the Constitution Says: The Constitution requires that the voters must approve in advance a tax policy change that results in “a net tax revenue gain.” Colo. Const. art X, § 20(4)(a). This is called “the TABOR Amendment”, which stands for the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights”. The Mullarkey Justices Disagree: Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, Justice Michael Bender, Justice Alex Martinez, and Justice Nancy Rice decided not to give voters the right to approve or disapprove the School Financing Act amendments even though the tax policy change resulted in a $117.8 million net tax revenue gain (pp. 526 and 537). Two Justices Criticize the Mullarkey Justices: The dissent by 2 other Justices criticized the Mullarkey Justices for denying Colorado voters their constitutional right to determine whether or not to okay tax increases (p. 540). What Does the Mullarkey-Bender-Martinez-Rice Decision Mean for You? The TABOR Amendment gives voters the constitutional right to decide whether or not the government in Colorado may take more taxes. In Colorado, the government has to ask your permission to increase your taxes. Your consent to raise taxes is required by the Colorado Constitution but it looks like Justices Mullarkey, Bender, Martinez, and Rice made a policy or political decision favoring unconstitutional taxation. |
Additional Information and References Read the entire published opinion: Mesa County Board of County Commissioners vs. State of Colorado |
Commentary Supreme Court Ruling Opens Door to Millions in New Taxes TABOR On Life Support ("Last month’s Orwellian decision by the Colorado Supreme Court signaled that no longer will the executive, legislative nor judicial branches of state government - all dominated by liberals - abide by a constitutional amendment that crimps their big-spender style.") Lawmakers Eye Millions in New Taxes in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling Voters Blindsided by Colorado Supreme Court ("It turns out that the common understanding of the phrase “tax policy change” is not shared by a majority of our justices. The 2007 legislation, the court declared, was “not a policy change, but an implementation of the waiver election” that all but a few school districts had held.
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