Colorado Supreme Court approves 40% tax increase

by CTBC Director | 3:03 pm, November 4, 2011

Although Colorado voters decisively repudiated a recent attempt to raise taxes at the ballot box this week (the “Proposition 103″ tax increase initiative, which at least did seek “voter approval in advance” as required by the Colorado Constitution, Article X, Section 20 – the ‘Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights’), on the day before votes were tallied, the Colorado [...]

Defending the Constitution – Why 9/11 still matters today (10 years later)

by CTBC Director | 9:11 am, September 11, 2011

“It is Tuesday morning, the 11th of September… and you will not forget this date.”
(TV reporter, unknown, reporting from NYC as events unfolded on the morning of 9/11…)
10 years ago today, the most horrific attack ever carried out on American soil claimed the lives of thousands of Americans, making clear that “there’ll be no shelter [...]

Life in the FASTER lane – updates on the Colorado Car Tax

by CTBC Director | 2:55 pm, May 26, 2011

Surely make you lose your mind…
The Colorado Car Tax (er, “fee”) increase – ironically dubbed ‘FASTER’ – passed in the 2009 legislative session made another lap in media coverage this past week with a broadcast on the ‘Devil’s Advocate‘ television program and publication of a pair of “Issue Backgrounder” papers.
The “Issue Backgrounder” papers each address [...]

Cleaning up the “Dirty Dozen” – Agriculture Tax repeal moves forward in state House

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, April 18, 2011

“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” – Mark Twain (1866)
Occasionally, however, the legislature can succeed in undoing previous acts putting one’s life, liberty, or property at risk…
State legislators made some progress this week towards repealing one of last year’s “Dirty Dozen” tax increases (which exploited a Colorado [...]

Movie Ticket Tax (er, “fee”) coming soon to a theater near you?

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, February 5, 2011

Apparently, some folks still haven’t gotten the memo…
As reported in the Denver Post (”Bill proposes 10-cent fee on movie tickets“) online Friday afternoon,
Two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill today that would impose a 10-cent fee on every movie ticket sold in the state, beginning July 1, to help fund an incentive program for promoting film [...]

The ‘Dirty Dozen’ Tax Increases: How the 2010 Colorado Legislature exploited a Colorado Supreme Court ruling to (unconstitutionally) take more of your money without asking

by CTBC Director | 9:12 am, February 2, 2011

The following article was written for, and originally appears in, The Constitutionalist Today (February edition).
“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” – Mark Twain (1866)
As another legislative session begins, the Colorado General Assembly once again faces a hefty budget shortfall; the projected gap between expected revenue and planned [...]

Clear The Bench Colorado wins opening rounds in legal battle over “Know Your Judge” campaign finance law violations

by CTBC Director | 9:12 am, January 31, 2011

As reported in Friday’s Face The State (”Judge clears the way for Clear the Bench“),
plaintiff Clear the Bench Colorado (CTBC) has won some key battles in its effort to prove that a consortium of groups behind the Know Your Judge website constituted a political committee that failed to comply with laws governing spending and electioneering.
Last week, [...]

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold interviewed on Rob McNealy Show

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, January 22, 2011

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold discussed the Colorado judicial accountability effort in 2010 (and beyond) on the Rob McNealy show, Thursday 13 January 2011.
(Listen to the podcast here – the segment starts at the 47:00 minute mark)
The fight to reform Colorado’s corrupt legal/judicial complex continues.  Clear The Bench Colorado is working to hold the [...]

Colorado State of the Judiciary: “lean and efficient” courts or “Judicial Hellhole?”

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, January 15, 2011

Newly appointed Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender (who was retained in office by the most narrow margin in Colorado history for an incumbent state supreme court justice along with his colleague, and ideological ally, Alex Martinez) delivered his first “State of the Judiciary” address before a joint session of the Colorado General Assembly on [...]

Taxes on Fees (that are really taxes anyway)

by CTBC Director | 9:12 am, January 8, 2011

One more example of how the Colorado Supreme Court has aided and abetted another unconstitutional assault on your wallet was recently highlighted in an informative article by Face The State’s Peter Blake, “One used-tire fee drives another” (the article also appeared in the Denver Daily News).  The article traces the mutation of the “used-tire fee” from [...]

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