Trust Us
Title: “No”
Sponsor: Vote No; It’s Your Dough
Type: Television ad
The message: Government officials want to take away your tax refunds and not tell you how they’re spending it. The politicians even want to take ice cream out of the mouths of your children.
Facts: Referendum C would let the state suspend tax refunds required by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) for the next five years.
The ad says Referendum C will cost the typical family $3,200. Nonpartisan budget experts who work for the state legislature say most families will give up an average $491 in TABOR refunds.
The $3,200 figure assumes that every family qualifies for every TABOR tax refund offered by the state. No taxpayer qualifies for every tax refund.
In addition, Referendum C does not affect income tax returns. If a taxpayer pays too much throughout the year, he still qualifies for an income-tax refund.
The ad says Referendum C is a “permanent tax increase.”
After five years, the state resets the base for calculating future spending growth. That increase in the base boosts the amount of money the state will keep in perpetuity.
Still, the base remains lower than what it would be if an economic downturn beginning in 2001 had not wiped out hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue.
The ad suggests that politicians won’t tell how the money will be spent. Referendum C says the funding will be used for health care, schools, roads and pensions.
Each year, state officials are required to file an annual report on how the TABOR money was spent.
– Staff writer Mark P. Couch
