Taxpayer Bill of Rights

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a concept advocated by certain conservative and libertarian groups, primarily in the United States, as a way of limiting the growth of government.

Related Topics:
Taxpayer Bill of Rights - Conservative - Libertarian - United States - Government

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Advocates of the concept generally base their arguments on the experience of Colorado. In the early 1990s the constitution of Colorado was amended to the effect that any tax increase resulting in the increase of governmental revenues at a rate faster than the combined rate of population increase and inflation as measured by the cost of living index would be subjected to popular voting in a referendum. Additionally, any "natural growth" in revenues that exceeded this rate was to be either earmarked for educational improvements or rebated to the taxpayers once an adequate reserve ("rainy day fund") fund was established. The advocates of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights ("TaBOR") cite the fact that Colorado's economic growth in the dozen or so years since this system was implemented has been well in excess of that of the U.S. as a whole.

Related Topics:
Colorado - 1990s - Constitution - Amended - Tax - Government - Inflation - Cost of living - Referendum - Education

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Opponents counter that Colorado's economic growth has largely been despite, not because of this system, and is a result of changing societal desires for open spaces, outdoor sports opportunites, and other "quality of life" issues that are now imperiled by Colorado's inability to provide expanding governmental services. They point out that almost 90% of state tax revenues are now already earmarked for various purposes, handicapping the state legislature and giving it very little flexibility. They also add that the process has not been as "democratic" as its advocates purport. Referendums have generally been held in "off years" away from other elections; experience indicates that holding referendums on dates away from other elections makes changes easier to defeat, as turnouts are lower and opponents of a measure are often better-organized while the supporters of such measures tend to be less energized and are more likely to vote on specific issues if they are on the ballot at the same time as candidates for office. Opponents of TaBOR also state that such measures are of necessity couched in arcane, legalistic language that tends to be somewhat impenetrable to the average voter, who is likely either to give up in disgust or vote in the negative out of fear of a change which may be entailed, and that in any event such things are best decided by deliberation based on well-informed argument and informed consent such as presumably occurs in legislatures rather than simplisitc, emotionally-based appeals directly to the electorate.

Related Topics:
Legislature - Democratic - Election

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TaBOR advocates regard all counter-arguments as being elitist and claim that the voters are the best judges of how to spend what is, in the final analysis, their own money, and that legislatures are often captives of lobbyists and other special interests. Several states have groups advocating reforms similar to Colorado's. Informed observers feel that such adovcates have the greatest likelihood of success in jurisdictions which have initiative and referendum and can be put on the ballot directly by voters, at least in the short term, as legislators are very unlikely to be willing to give up such control over the power of the purse unless voters overwhelmingly demand it. TaBOR advocates were handed a setback when a similar proposition, on the ballot on the same day as the California gubernatorial recall of 2003, was overwhelmingly defeated on the same day that a liberal Democratic governor was being recalled by a large margin.

Related Topics:
Lobbyist - Initiative and referendum - Power of the purse - California gubernatorial recall of 2003 - Liberal - Democratic - Governor

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It appears far more likely, at least in the short term, that measures similar to the "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" will be adopted on the county and municipal level than on a statewide basis beyond Colorado; one municipality adopting the plan in recent years has been Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Related Topics:
County - Municipal - Spring Hill, Tennessee

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