Taxpayers Bill of Rights:

Talking TABOR, May 21, 2005
I had the enjoyable experience today of participating in a panel discussion of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept, along with state Sen. Jim Bryson R-Franklin, Brian Miller of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation and Dick Williams, the lobbyist for Common Cause and also a volunteer with TFT. The panel discussion was at the 2005 annual meeting of the Tennessee League of Women Voters. Blogger Blake Wylie came and I expect will file a report at...

Why Taxpayers Won't Get Surplus Rebate, May 20, 2005
Today's Tennessean front page contains a story I never thought I'd see in that paper - much less atop page one: Give taxpayers back $272M, some say. The story, by Trent Seibert, looks at how Gov. Phil Bredesen and many legislators are rushing to spend $272 million in unexpected revenue - more than half of it from excess taxes collected this year - and why taxpayers won't be getting any of it back.More tax collections...

TABOR On Parade, May 19, 2005
This coming Saturday (May 21) I'll be speaking in Murfreesboro at the 2005 Convention of the Tennessee League of Women Voters, featuring a panel discussion of the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights pending in the state legislature. Also appearing on the panel: state Sen. Jim Bryson, R-Franklin, and two folks from the group called "Tennesseans for Fair Taxation," which favors big tax increases and creation of an unconstitutional state income tax. The festivities begin at...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Update, April 09, 2005
A few days ago I mentioned and commented on a Steve Gill column about the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights for Tennessee, but couldn't link to it. Now it is online, at Gill's website. Here's the link. By the way, I've been gathering fresh data and will be updating this two-year-old white paper on Tennessee's tax and spending structure and the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept, over the next few weeks in preparation for a...

TABOR: "Common Sense" Tax Reform for Tennessee, April 05, 2005
Steve Gill has written an excellent commentary on the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the Tennessee constitution, and the forces that are lining up to demonize and defeat it. Unfortunately, I can't link to it because it is published in the April issue of Business TN, a good statewide business magazine with a lousy website. The story simply isn't available online - not even for money. If you subscribe, or if you happen...

16 States Considering Taxpayers Bill of Rights, March 28, 2005
The Heritage Foundation reports that, "even as it comes under fire in Colorado, the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights is attracting strong interest in states across the country." Some 16 states are considering amendments this year that resemble Colorado's landmark - and highly successful - Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, including Tennessee. The other 15 are Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The Heritage...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights, February 24, 2005
I've been invited by the Tennessee League of Women Voters to appear at a luncheon panel discussion on the Taxpayers Bill of Rights in mid-May in Murfreesboro, because of this research paper I wrote more than two years ago about the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept and how it has impacted the state of Colorado. More details to follow. I've been promising to update the data in that paper for a year or more. Now...

Hey Phil! Coloradans Don't Think TABOR Is A Disaster, January 28, 2005
For more than a year now, the Denver Post and a liberal Colorado think tank have been beating on that state's Taxpayers Bill of Rights, blaming it for all manner of fiscal ills and woes. So... what do the people of Colorado think about the amendment, which they voted into the state constitution more than a decade ago? Read the Jan. 18 news release from the Independence Institute regarding a public opinion survey on that...

Bredesen Falsely Claims TABOR a "Disaster" In Colorado, January 28, 2005
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has come out strongly in opposition to the proposed state constitutional amendment called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, falsely describing a similar amendment as having been a "disaster" in Colorado. The Knoxville News Sentinel has the story, here (free registration required).Gov. Phil Bredesen said he is adamantly against putting a proposed "taxpayer bill of rights" into the state constitution, but he will not actively oppose an amendment to forbid gay marriage....

Loss, January 24, 2005
WKRN Channel 2 lead its 10 p.m. newscast with the breaking news that Ray Williams, mayor of the small town of Spring Hill, Tenn., died tonight after a massive heart attack. Mayor Williams was a champion of limited government and lower taxes, and lead the city of Spring Hill to adopt the first Taxpayers Bill of Rights in the state, capping property tax rates and requiring approval by voters to raise them. It boosted the...

Watching the Watchers, January 13, 2005
The Nashville Scene is questioning whether Trent Seibert, the new star reporter hired by the big local daily to cover the state legislature, has a record of getting facts wrong. As the Tennessee legislature rumbles into session, it really doesn't matter to me whom the Tennessean or the Nashville City Paper have covering the state legislature, as long as they don't report from a biased viewpoint and do their best to be honest. If they...

What Are They Afraid Of?, January 07, 2005
As I reported here yesterday, the Tennessee branch of the National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed the proposed Tennessee constitutional amendment called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. The NFIB/Tennessee issued a press release announcing its endorsement of TABOR, along with a helpful TABOR summary, on Wednesday, January 5. It has not been mentioned in any major Tennessee newspaper, even though the NFIB/Tennessee is the state's largest business association and its thousands of small-business members...

Tennessee NFIB Backs TABOR Amendment, January 06, 2005
The Tennessee branch of the National Federation of Independent Business has come out in favor of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment proposed for the state constitution. I've been writing about TABOR for, oh, about a hundred years now, give or take a few, so it's nice to see the issue gaining prominence.Ikard said NFIB is planning to lobby for a Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, which received overwhelming support from NFIB members responding to a...

Tennessee GOP Begs Wilder: "Pick" More Republicans, December 27, 2004
The weirdness that is Tennessee politics continues... Today's Nashville City Paper reports:Lt. Gov. John Wilder has struck a deal with Republicans that could give them a majority share of the power in the new state Senate, Sen. Ron Ramsey said last week.Well, ya know, the GOP did win a majority in the state Senate in the recent election...Though Republicans won an elected majority in the state Senate in November for the first time since Reconstruction,...

Commission Proposes Income Tax - and Spending Reform?!?, December 10, 2004
Surprising absolutely nobody, the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission's tax reform recommendation, being released today, calls for a state income tax.Gov. Phil Bredesen said he plans to read the commission's report "with respect" but said he does not feel bound by it, especially since it was created before he became governor. "I'm not really interested in reopening this whole divisive tax issue,'' Bredesen said. "We've balanced the budget just fine the last couple of years,...

The Battle Begins..., November 29, 2004
The Tennessean comes out against the proposed Tennessee Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the state constitution, with an editorial that only exposes how little the paper has researched the issue. I'll have a complete line-by-line shredding of the editorial a little later today... UPDATE: Haven't got to this yet. Sorry. Very busy....

No Surprise, November 28, 2004
Surprising absolutely nobody, the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission - all of the members of which were appointed by elected officials who favor a state income tax, and none of the members of which is on record opposing an income tax - is going going to recommend a state income tax. The commission is a shining example of political malpractice. Even though a state income tax is plainly not permitted by the state constitution, and...

Tennessean Weighs In on Taxpayers Bill of Rights, November 21, 2004
The Tennessean weighs in on the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept with a page-one story saying it would do little to slow the growth of government. I'll be writing a longer analysis of the article later, but on a first quick read-thru, one thing jumped out at me:State Comptroller John Morgan, who works for a Democrat-controlled General Assembly, said he still has reservations. Tennessee is a low-tax state that does not need to restrict the...

Poll: Tennesseans Oppose State Income Tax, September 21, 2004
Today's Tennessean reports the results of a statewide poll, which shows 53 percent of registered voters in Tennessee oppose the creation of a state income tax even if the state's sales tax was reduced. Only 35 percent favor it. These would be the 35 percent of the state's population who believe the lie that the legislature would not later re-raise the sales tax. I would be interested to know the results of a good poll...

Another One THREE Bite The Dust, August 06, 2004
Three Tennessee legislators who backed the proposed state income tax a few years ago have been defeated. In East Tennessee, Republican state Rep. Bob Patton, a supporter of the income tax who also voted against restrictions on abortion and voted for the retention of a Democrat, Jimmy Naifeh, as House speaker, was defeated by Matthew Hill, who will actually vote like a conservative Republican, including against the income tax should Naifeh and his pro-income tax...

The Games Legislators Play, August 02, 2004
The Rocky Mountain News is complaining about a provision of that state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which forces the state to return surplus tax revenue to the taxpayers.Regrettably, the legislature is much more responsive to special interests and causes, who have lobbyists, than it is to the general taxpayer, who does not. If the trend continues and refunds end up being distributed almost entirely to certain groups instead of to all citizens, voters will no...

A Taxing Tale, July 02, 2004
Rob Ikard, Tennessee State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, emailed me regarding the oped by Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission member Grover L. Porter which I wrote about yesterday - the op-ed that urged Tennessee adopt "tax reform," a euphemism known statewide to mean "income tax."...

We Were Right, They Were Wrong, July 01, 2004
Earlier today I posted my response to Grover L. Porter, a member of the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission, who wrote an op-ed in a recent edition of The Tennessean favoring creation of a state income tax. I noted he spent part of the op-ed making personal attacks against a Nashville talk radio host, ignored state revenue data that contradicted, and based his whole column not on facts about the state's tax structure and revenue...

Democrats in Tennessee Legislature Prepare To Break Spending Cap Next Year, Too, May 05, 2004
NASHVILLE - It appears the Democratic leadership of the Tennessee legislature won't be satisfied with just breaking the constitution cap on the growth of state spending by a whopping $105.1 million in this fiscal year. Legislation is pending that would allow the legislature to also break the spending cap in the 2004-05 fiscal year. Senate Bill 3433, and its companion House Bill 3548 would, as currently written, permit the legislature to exceed the spending cap...

Busting the Cap in Tennessee, May 04, 2004
NASHVILLE - Legislation that would enable the state of Tennessee to exceed its constitutional cap on the growth of state spending by $105.1 million this fiscal year is still pending in the House and Senate finance committees. In the Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee today, action on Senate Bill 3456 was deferred to tomorrow's meeting of the same committee. In the House Finance, Ways & Means Committee, action on House Bill 3549 was deferred...

Tennessee Legislature Aims To Break Spending Cap - Again, May 03, 2004
NASHVILLE - In the past 20 years, the Tennessee legislature has passed budgets that exceeded the state constitution's cap on the growth of spending 11 times, costing Tennessee taxpayers a cumulative $3.1 billion. Now the legislature is getting ready to do it again, to the tune of $105.1 million. HobbsOnline has the details of a story you haven't seen in any major news media in Tennessee. Legislation is pending in the state House and state...

Tennessean Gets It Wrong on Taxpayers Bill of Rights, May 02, 2004
A Tennessean story today on the state's rising revenue growth mentions the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the state constitution - but gets the details wrong.[State Sen. Jim] Bryson is a proponent of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which would cap state spending and tie it to the rate of inflation. All tax increases would have to be approved by voters, and taxes collected above the inflation rate would be refunded automatically.Not exactly....

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Update, April 21, 2004
Blake Wylie has an update on the status of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights legislation pending in Tennessee. For background on this proposed amendment to the state constitution, visit my Taxpayers Bill of Rights category archive....

WSJ on TABOR: "The Results Have Been Impressive", April 19, 2004
Today's Wall Street Journal has an excellent editorial about the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept, focusing on Colorado's experience. Here's the link, though you need to have a subscription to WSJ.com to access it. Here's an excerpt:Spending discipline has a lot to do with how states fare when the nation's economy heads south. Anyone who doesn't think so probably hasn't been following California's budget nightmare. And that's why the current assault on Colorado's tax and...

Thoughts on Tennessee Politics and Taxes, April 05, 2004
I received an interesting question via email from a reader regarding the proposal for a "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" in Tennessee to cap state tax rates and the state spending-growth rate and give voters a say in raising taxes, new taxes and extra spending. Here it is, followed by my thoughts......

Tennessee Tax Coverage, April 05, 2004
Longtime readers of HobbsOnline know that I have written extensively about Tennessee state government's revenue situation and tax policy and a proposal called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights over the last two-plus years. That work is paying off. Run a Google search for Tennessee revenue and, as of right now, this website is listed fourth in the search results. It's also in the top 10 results for Tennessee taxpayers rights. The link goes to my...

Three is Not One - Neither is 27, March 29, 2004
State Sen. Jim Bryson and his push for a Tennessee Taxpayers Bill of Rights gets a good mention in this AP story about how efforts are underway in several states to enact similar legislation. There's also a sidebar that further makes clear just how many "facts" were, uh, non-factual in the anti-Taxpayers Bill of Rights editorial in the Saturday Tennessean that I commented on yesterday. The Tennessean said Colorado is the only state with such...

A Fact-Free Editorial, March 29, 2004
The Tennessean has weighed in with its editorial opinion of the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the state constitution. Predictably, the paper is against it. What follows is the text of their editorial, interspersed with my response to it......

Amend the Amended Taxpayers Bill of Rights?, March 27, 2004
State Sen. Jim Bryson has responded to my criticisms of the amended version of the propsoed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the Tennessee state constitution. My criticism, in brief, were these: The new version uses a measure of economic growth that allows for maximum government spending growth and, because it is defined by the legislature and based on estimates the legislature can manipulate rather than a set of hard data, it is itself a...

As Amended... It's Got Problems, March 24, 2004
The proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment for the Tennessee state constitution has been rewritten by its sponsor, and while the new version may have a better chance to pass through the legislature, that will be because the new has greatly weakened the protections the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights would give Tennesseans against higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. It has two major weaknesses that absolutely must be addressed....

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Moves Forward, March 23, 2004
The proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the Tennessee state constitution is still alive in the state legislature after the Senate Judiciary Committee today simply passed the proposed amendment on to the Senate Finance Committee without voting on it. That means none of the nine members of the Senate Judiciary Committee was recorded as voting either for or against TABOR. Two of the members of the Judiciary committee - Sen. David Fowler and Sen....

You Can't Follow Two Parades at Once, March 23, 2004
As nine of Tennessee's state senators meet today as the Senate Judiciary Committee (at 3:30 p.m. at Legislative Plaza ) to consider a proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights to restrain the growth of state taxes and government spending, they might be wise to consider the results of a poll in Kansas to measure public support for a similar proposal there. From the Lawrence Journal-World comes this report:Nearly three of four registered voters in Kansas support...

Locked In?
A Response to A Major Criticism of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, March 22, 2004
HobbsOnline received an email from St. Louis attorney John L. Davidson, posing a reasonable question about the proposed Tennessee Taxpayers Bill of Rights. He first cited a series of stats showing that Tennessee has fewer college-educated people than Minnesota and a lower per capita income, and then asks "If you cap taxes, what are you going to cut to raise your education funding to where you don't fall further behind?" It's a fair question -...

Tennessean Wrong on Amendment's Form, March 21, 2004
The Tennessean flat got it wrong in its story today about the proposed amendment to the Tennessee constitution known as the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. The paper says the legislation "would let Tennessee voters decide whether to call a constitutional convention to debate and propose the amendments to the state Constitution. If voters decide a convention should be called, voters elect convention delegates and then get to approve or disapprove of what delegates recommend." Not...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights UPDATE, March 21, 2004
The Tennessean has finally noticed that there's a proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the state constitution pending in the state legislature. The paper has previously ignored the legislation - even ignored a "town hall" meeting on the proposed amendment even though the meeting attracted about 200 people, had well-known guest speakers that included the president of the Colorado Senate and the head of the influential Club For Growth - and even though the...

NFIB Endorses Taxpayers Bill of Rights, March 19, 2004
Okay, it's more than a month old, but I failed to mention here that the Tennessee office of the National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the Tennessee constitution after polling its members....

Push Poll Update, March 19, 2004
Dr. Ken Blake, the Middle Tennessee State University professor whose poll showing support for an income tax in Tennessee is being criticized by people who oppose the creation of a state income tax, is addressing the concerns of critics who note that the questions in the poll seem designed to generate responses supporting the income tax. Responding to an email I sent to Dr. Blake (and published here), he writes......

Push Poll, March 18, 2004
There's news today about a new poll from Middle Tennessee State University that purports to prove that Tennesseans - who overwhelmingly objected to an income tax four years - are actually in favor of the tax, and by a solid margin. [Via: NashvilleFiles.] It's a push poll designed to get that result. It's a push poll, might I add, by a state-funded university that seeks ever higher flows of taxpayers dollars, a university that has...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Update, March 16, 2004
NashvilleFiles.com has an update on the status of the proposed Taxpayers Billl of Rights amendment to the Tennessee state constitution. And a spiffy new blog design by Southnine, designer of HobbsOnline....

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Update, March 09, 2004
Tennessee readers: The state legislature's Senate Judiciary Committee was to debate the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment today, but the bill's sponsor and author, Sen. Jim Bryson, has moved the amendment to the March 16 agenda. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, you can help pass the amendment by reading this and this and contacting legislators appropriately....

Five Reasons Liberals Should Support The Taxpayers Bill of Rights, March 08, 2004
The proposed "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" which goes before the Tennessee legislature's Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, is generally viewed as a conservative policy proposal that would reign in the size and cost of state government - and Tennessee liberals are already attacking it as a threat to their hopes for higher taxes and a state income tax. I addressed some of their specific anti-TaBOR claims in this post and will have more to say...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights at Critical Moment, March 06, 2004
Frank Cagle nails it in his column explaining the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the Tennessee constitution. Here's an excerpt, followed by some comments and information you can use to help get the proposed amendment passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee next week....

Good TaBOR Coverage from WKRN, March 03, 2004
I sent an email to WKRN Channel 2 asking them to post the video of reporter Chris Bundgaard's story on the Taxpayers Bill of Rights town hall meeting, which aired on the 6 p.m. Tuesday newscast, on their website, and they responded. You can now see the story - a much more balanced approach than the biased report from WSMV - by clicking this link. The story lead the newscast, and, following Bundgaard's report, anchor...

TaBOR Coverage, March 03, 2004
Blake Wylie of NashvilleFiles.com emails to say he must have been wrong about there being a Tennessean reporter at the Taxpayers Bill of Rights event, as today's issue of the paper shows no evidence the paper had a reporter there. I searched the paper's online edition and found no coverage of yesterday's event. That is simply amazing. A proposed constitutional amendment has been filed, and a crowd of 200 people, including many members of the...

How TABOR Will Boost Revenue in Spring Hill, March 02, 2004
The Taxpayers Bill of Rights proposal is in the news today - see the post immediately prior to this one - and while the proposal is for a cap on state taxes and spending, it's instructive to consider what is happening in Spring Hill, the first town in Tennessee to pass a local version of the taxpayer protection provision. Take special note this Tennessean story, which reports that a developer is contemplating building a sizable...

Tennessee TaBOR Coverage, March 02, 2004
The Associated Press has filed a fairly good report on today's Town Hall meeting on the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights. WKRN Channel 2's Chris Bundgaard did a good story at on the 6 pm newscast. I'm hoping they post the video of that online, or at least the text. NashvilleFiles.com is posting links to media coverage of the event. My first report was here (or scroll down a few posts of you don't want...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Meeting Report, March 02, 2004
I was only able to catch the panel discussion portion of the Town Hall meeting on the proposed Tennessee Taxpayers Bill of Rights. The meeting - which drew a large crowd I'd estimate at around 200 people - was not audiotaped by the event organizers. I won't be filing a report on the event because I was in a staff meeting at work during much of it. If any of my readers were there and...

TABOR Works, March 01, 2004
The Heartland Institute has published the third part of a three-part series on tax-and-expenditure-limitation laws. Lessons From 30 Years of TEL Experience reports:It is clear that constitutional (not statutory) TELs initiated by the people (in those states that permit referenda and initiatives) are the strongest and most resistant to circumvention. Furthermore, limiting year-over-year growth in spending to population and inflation changes, as well as imposing limits on both state and local governments, provides the greatest...

Don't Forget!, February 27, 2004
Whatever you do, don't forget to come to the March 2 Taxpayer Bill of Rights Town Hall Meeting , if you live anywhere close to Nashville and can get away from work for a couple of hours. The event - with keynote speakers Steve Moore, president of the Club for Growth, and John Andrews, president of the Colorado State Senate - will introduce the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept to the general public and (hopefully)...

Big Guns, February 23, 2004
They're bringing in the big guns for the March 2 Taxpayer Bill of Rights Town Hall Meeting , an event designed to introduce the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept to the general public and provide some momentum to legislation pending in the Tennessee legislature to put a TABOR amendment on the ballot in 2006. As proposed, the Tennessee Taxpayer Bill of Rights constitutional amendment will:1. Cap the rate of growth of state government spending, 2....

The Tax-And-Spenders Attack TABOR, January 31, 2004
The Tennessean has come out against a proposal in Wilson County for a local Taxpayers Bill of Rights provision that would require a refendum on future property tax increases. No big surprise - the paper favors higher taxes and bigger government budgets. But the editorial makes it clear the paper's editorial board really hasn't investigated the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept in depth and learned how it has worked at the local level in places...

Excellent Taxpayers Bill of Rights Information, January 31, 2004
The Heartland Institute has published the first two parts of a three-part in-depth series on tax-and spending limitation laws (TELs) such as Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights. Part 1 is titled State Budget Problems Lead to Renewed Interest in TELs and begins this way:Thoughtful leaders in many states are fed up with the fiscal roller coaster they have experienced during the past decade and want to smooth out the ride. The result in many states...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Town Hall Meeting, January 29, 2004
Sen. Jim Bryson, author of the proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment to the Tennessee constitution, has scheduled a town hall meeting for March 2 ....

Let the People Decide, January 29, 2004
A county commissioner in Wilson County, one of Nashville's fastest-growing suburban counties, wants state law changed so the county can allow the people to vote on proposed property tax increases. Details here from today's Tennessean.Colorado voted in a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, also known as TABOR, as a state in 1992. Supporters say it helped increase personal income and the gross state product. Critics, however, have said that in its wake public services are poor...

Oregon Eyes Taxpayers Bill of Rights, January 18, 2004
While Tennessee's governor is foolishly planning to spend Tennessee's rapidly growing revenue surplus - rather than save it for a rainy day - out in Oregon they may set a better example, by embracing the Taxpayers Bill of Rights concept....

Tennessee Surplus Will Be Spent, January 17, 2004
As I mentioned here yesterday and The Tennessean reports today, Tennessee is piling up a surplus of tax revenue expected to reach at least $150 million this fiscal year. Unfortunately, instead of saving that money in the state's "rainy day" fund or rebating it to taxpayers, it appears the otherwise fiscally smart administration of Gov. Phil Bredesen is making plans to spend the surplus.Thanks to a recovering economy, the state is projecting that tax collections...

The Coming Tennessee Income Tax War, January 16, 2004
The "independent" study commission studying Tennessee's tax structure is leaning toward an income tax. That's the message of this story in today's Tennessean, and it's no surprise - the commission was stacked with former elected officials and others well-known for their support for adding a state income tax to Tennessee's long list of existing taxes. I'll make another prediction: the commission won't include anything like the Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights in its recommendation for...

A Spending Cap for Tennessee?, January 06, 2004
State Rep. Glen Casada, my representative in the Tennessee General Assembly, lists a tougher cap on spending cap among his legislative priorities this year. My state senator, Jim Bryson, also plans to push for passage of a tough tax-and-spending limitation. Here's part of Casada's January newsletter......

Sales Tax + Spending Restraint = Fewer Budget Crises, January 06, 2004
The San Jose Mercury News published a highly-interesting editorial last Saturday suggesting California state government adopt some sort of "spending restraint" - and rely less on the income tax and more on sales taxes to lessen volatility in revenues during economic cycles. Of course, that's the exact opposite of the lie told to Tennessee taxpayers during the four-year Income Tax War, when the administration of then-Gov. Don Sundquist insisted an income tax was a less...

Taxpayers Bill of Rights, January 05, 2004
The Independence Institute in Golden, Colorado, has launched a new Fiscal Policy Center dedicated to supporting Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights. Colorado's decade-old TABOR amendment is considered the model for legislation aimed at controlling the growth of taxes and government spending, and it is under attack by Colorado special interests that support higher taxes and uncontrolled spending growth. Regular readers of HobbsOnline know I've written numerous posts on TABOR, and on efforts to bring that...

A Rebellion Against Low Taxes?, December 11, 2003
South Knox Bubba is pointing to this commentary in the Knoxville News Sentinel story about a "rebellion" against low taxes in Crossville, Tennessee. It's a heartwarming story about how some folks, who wished the county commission had approved a proposed property tax increase for schools, are sending money to the county school system anyway. Heartwarming. But utterly stupid to call it a "rebellion" against low taxes....

Taming the Tax Monster, November 05, 2003
In Colorado, citizens get to vote on tax increases. Yesterday they voted a very loud NO......

Governor Already Making Plans to Spend Tennessee's Surplus, November 04, 2003
If you ever wanted more proof that Tennessee needs the basic protections afforded by a Colorado-style Taxpayers Bill of Rights, just read this news analysis by columnist and former AP statehouse reporter Phil West. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's top budget chief says that, on the one hand, the state's $30 million surplus after two months "does not a year make," but on the other hand he ticks off a list of things the Bredesen administration...

TABOR Update, September 28, 2003
Steve Carithers of the Tennessee Tax Revolt organization writes to announce that there is going to be a town hall meeting in Newport, Tennessee, to present a proposed Taxpayers Bill of Rights for Cocke County. The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Newport high school gymnasium. Taxpayers Bill of Rights legislation typically includes a cap on the growth of government spending, a requirement that excess revenue be returned to taxpayers...

Colorado TABOR Updates, September 18, 2003
No suprise: The Denver Post, which has never liked the Colorado constitutional amendment known as the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, blames it for the city government of Denver's fiscal mess in this editorial. But this is a surprise - the Rocky Mountain News favors the taxing-and-spending limitation known as TABOR, but this story quotes only people who wish the change that amendment and water it down. How about some balance in the coverage, guys? Surely...

A Hyped Poll Says Nothing Surprising, September 15, 2003
Reader Jason Currey emailed me the link to an interesting story from today's Rocky Mountain News about a poll of Coloradans' attitudes about the state's Taxpayers Bill of Rights amendment, which forces tax cuts or rebates if tax revenue growth exceeds the growth rate of inflation and population....

Colorado TABOR: The Results Are In, September 03, 2003
The Independence Institute, a Colorado think tank, has recently released the results of a study of the impact of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights a decade after it was adopted by voters in that state. Here is the summary:Pre-TABOR, government jobs grew slightly more than business or total employment. After TABOR, business job growth nearly doubled that of government job growth. The TABOR surplus rebate mechanism returned to taxpayers some $3.25 billion over five years,...

Power to the People, August 26, 2003
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports on a new political poll that shows most Knoxvillians don't want their property taxes raised next year - but most expect property taxes will be raised anyway. Another poll finds most Knoxvillians don't want their tax dollars to subsidize building a new hotel near the taxpayer-funded, money-losing Knoxville Convention Center. What does this mean? It means that the government of the people, by the people and for the people concept...

Putting Limits on the Taxin', August 19, 2003
Robert Hawley sent along a link to this story in Sunday's Washington Post about some "tax activists" in two counties in Maryland who are pushing for a referendum to cap property taxes and, in one county, to roll back a recent increase in the county income tax. Yes, they have a county income tax there. Can you imagine such a thing? The WaPo story is dripping with bias against such tax-limitation efforts, portraying the anti-tax...

Was Tennessee's Tax Revolt Nuked in Oak Ridge?, June 11, 2003
Frank Cagle explains why the movement to enact an effective tax-and-spending limitation in Tennessee isn't off to a rip-roaring start. The movement suffered a setback in Oak Ridge, "an unlikely place to launch an anti-government and lower taxes movement," says Cagle....

Taxpayers Bill of Rights Legislation Filed in Tennessee, February 25, 2003
Two pieces of legislation related to TELs and establishment of a real Taxpayers Bill of Rights in Tennessee have been filed, including this one sponsored by Sen. Curtis Person and this one sponsored by Sen. Jim Bryson. Of the two, I prefer Bryson's by a slim margin, though passage of either would be good. Person's bill is a call for a constitutional convention to consider a Taxpayers Bill of Rights. Bryson's bill would put a...

Tax and Spending Limits Also Limit Deficits, February 25, 2003
Some states are facing less dire fiscal crises then others. Michael New explains why......

A TABOR Wildfire?, February 17, 2003
John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation in North Carolina and publisher of the Carolina Journal, reports that legislators there are introducing some smart proposals to prevent or lessen future budget crises in that state....

The State of Your Wallet, January 29, 2003
The president spoke about the economy and taxes last night, too, and it was all good. Three things stand out......

TABOR: Safeguarding Democracy?, January 24, 2003
I though Aristotle said it, but then I Googled it and found the famed quote was actually written by Sir Alexander Tytler, a Scottish jurist and historian who lived from 1742-1813. What did he say? A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess of the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising...

Bubba Likes Taxpayers Rights, January 08, 2003
South Knox Bubba says he didn't favor a state income tax, and has lots of nice things to say about my recent Memphis Commercial-Appeal column advocating a Taxpayers Bill of Rights be part of any Tennessee tax reform plan....

Pushing TABOR, December 22, 2002
My guest column in the Memphis Commercial Appeal today offers up the Colorado model as a solution to the twin problems of tax reform and the public's lack of faith in their state government....

Internet Sales Tax Vote, November 12, 2002
A group of states that wants to tax all online sales - not just sales by merchants that have a presence in their state - is set to vote today on a proposal to streamline sales tax collection and automate it, to make online sales taxation easier, reports today's Washington Post. The WaPo calls the states "revenue hungry." As if government is ever not hungry for more cash to spend. The Supreme Court's 1992 Quill...

TABOR Update, November 04, 2002
Voters in Colorado get to vote on proposed tax increases. Here's an example from the Denver Post, Oct. 31, 2002:Adams County residents will also decide a variety of ballot issues: The county is asking that it be allowed to keep excess revenue under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR amendment, for funding services, projects and operations. Residents will decide whether to increase their property taxes to raise $5.8 million annually to pay for three...

Sundquist Gets Failing Fiscal Grade, September 20, 2002
The respected Cato Institute has given Gov. Don Sundquist a grade of F in its Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors for the year 2002......

Links to More Info on Colorado Plan, August 13, 2002
I've put together a list of links to assorted other information and commentary about Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights, including media commentary, academic research, and my own commentary......

Media Praise for Colorado's TABOR Plan, July 17, 2002
Here are some comments from various Colorado newspapers regarding the Taxpayer Bill of Rights......

The Colorado Plan, July 17, 2002
Now that more than one Tennessee gubernatorial candidate has endorsed amending the Tennessee constitution with a provision similar to Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, here is a list of resources related to Colorado's TABOR amendment......

Colorado Plan Gets an Endorsement, July 16, 2002
Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Henry, who has said he favors holding a constitutional convention on taxes, today endorsed the concept of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights similar to the one in place in the Colorado. Henry, speaking on Phil Valentine's talk show on WLAC 1510 AM, said he believes an income tax violates the state constitution....

We've won. Now what?, July 03, 2002
The income tax is dead. Three years of efforts by the governor and some legislative leaders to impose an unconstitutional income tax on the people of Tennessee have failed. Here's an interesting question: What do we do next?...

The Colorado Lesson - Colorado, March 21, 2002
Colorado has an income tax, yet Colorado also has a big budget shortfall thanks to the recession, proving that not even an income tax can assure a state will avoid fiscal crises. But that's not the most important lesson of Colorado's budget crunch. The truth is Colorado's $1 billion shortfall would have been far worse if the state hadn't finally placed a firm limit on the growth of taxing and spending a few years ago,...