Chairman's Blog
What is TABOR?
You'll hear a lot of wild talk from TABOR opponents in the coming weeks. More often than not, the people who oppose TABOR are the very same people who are responsible for Maine's financial mess. At the very least, TABOR opponents have a stake in maintaining the status quo - after all, they want to maintain power and control and view all of us as their personal ATM.
But what is TABOR?
"TABOR" stands for "Taxpayer Bill of Rights". It is a statute that - if adopted by voters in November - would place limitations on the growth of government spending and tax increases. It is hardly a radical proposal.
TABOR applies to state, county and municipal governments. School districts are not included because the legislature, in effect, TABOR-ized school budgets beginning in 2008. Voters must now approve all school budgets - whether they increase or decrease - and this goes well beyond what TABOR proposes, which addresses excessive increases in spending and taxation that outpace so-called "natural growth" in government.
The key point to remember is that TABOR cuts nothing.
TABOR merely provides gentle braking on the sorts of massive increases we've seen over the past decade or more. As you know, our state's government is a fiscal mess - a smaller version of California and New York. Until 2007, absolute revenues to the state increased every year - yet the legislature managed to outspend the increase every year as well, resulting in a huge structural gap that's caused deep consternation to taxpayers who've been expected by those in government to foot the bill. But the taxpayers simply have no more to give - particularly in this economy and particularly when budgetary shortfalls have been caused by mismanagement.
The effect of TABOR in places like Colorado (where a version has been in place since the early 1990s) has been to permit government to grow at a natural place, while allowing the refund of tax dollars most every year since it was instituted. Colorado's economy has flourished over this time due in no small measure to the discipline imposed by TABOR. As noted, the effect of TABOR over time is to slow down government spending to a natural pace.
Remember, if state, county and municipal officials wish to raise taxes or spending beyond the allowable rates, they simply have to ask us for permission, as they now do with school budgets. The objective of TABOR is not to cripple normal government functions (nor does it) but rather to prevent the wild gyrations of budgeting and taxation that we've unfortunately seen over the last two decades.
Maine is not alone in these sorts of gyrations - as noted above, please examine the cases of California and New York for situations even more dire than Maine's. Or observe the wild spending in Washington that's jeopardized our children's future.
When the first TABOR was defeated - barely - in 2006, Legislators stated that they had heard the message of voters and that tax reform was front and center. Yet, the Legislature has tried raising taxes several times, including the tax on beverages repealed last fall through a people's veto. The recent attempt at "tax reform" (by lowering the income tax while spreading sales taxes out over Maine's small businesses) is a shifting of burdens, not true reform.
Again, you will doubtless hear much negative - and inaccurate - talk about TABOR in the coming weeks. I'd urge you not to believe it. And I would also urge you to read the statute, which is available for download by punching the "legislation" tab above.
You'll hear a lot of wild talk from TABOR opponents in the coming weeks. More often than not, the people who oppose TABOR are the very same people who are responsible for Maine's financial mess. At the very least, TABOR opponents have a stake in maintaining the status quo - after all, they want to maintain power and control and view all of us as their personal ATM.
But what is TABOR?
"TABOR" stands for "Taxpayer Bill of Rights". It is a statute that - if adopted by voters in November - would place limitations on the growth of government spending and tax increases. It is hardly a radical proposal.
TABOR applies to state, county and municipal governments. School districts are not included because the legislature, in effect, TABOR-ized school budgets beginning in 2008. Voters must now approve all school budgets - whether they increase or decrease - and this goes well beyond what TABOR proposes, which addresses excessive increases in spending and taxation that outpace so-called "natural growth" in government.
The key point to remember is that TABOR cuts nothing.
TABOR merely provides gentle braking on the sorts of massive increases we've seen over the past decade or more. As you know, our state's government is a fiscal mess - a smaller version of California and New York. Until 2007, absolute revenues to the state increased every year - yet the legislature managed to outspend the increase every year as well, resulting in a huge structural gap that's caused deep consternation to taxpayers who've been expected by those in government to foot the bill. But the taxpayers simply have no more to give - particularly in this economy and particularly when budgetary shortfalls have been caused by mismanagement.
The effect of TABOR in places like Colorado (where a version has been in place since the early 1990s) has been to permit government to grow at a natural place, while allowing the refund of tax dollars most every year since it was instituted. Colorado's economy has flourished over this time due in no small measure to the discipline imposed by TABOR. As noted, the effect of TABOR over time is to slow down government spending to a natural pace.
Remember, if state, county and municipal officials wish to raise taxes or spending beyond the allowable rates, they simply have to ask us for permission, as they now do with school budgets. The objective of TABOR is not to cripple normal government functions (nor does it) but rather to prevent the wild gyrations of budgeting and taxation that we've unfortunately seen over the last two decades.
Maine is not alone in these sorts of gyrations - as noted above, please examine the cases of California and New York for situations even more dire than Maine's. Or observe the wild spending in Washington that's jeopardized our children's future.
When the first TABOR was defeated - barely - in 2006, Legislators stated that they had heard the message of voters and that tax reform was front and center. Yet, the Legislature has tried raising taxes several times, including the tax on beverages repealed last fall through a people's veto. The recent attempt at "tax reform" (by lowering the income tax while spreading sales taxes out over Maine's small businesses) is a shifting of burdens, not true reform.
Again, you will doubtless hear much negative - and inaccurate - talk about TABOR in the coming weeks. I'd urge you not to believe it. And I would also urge you to read the statute, which is available for download by punching the "legislation" tab above.
David Crocker, Chairman
TABOR NOW