October 11, 2023 10:44 AM UTC

Lies, Damn Lies, And Americans For Prosperity

• 5 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

As readers know, the marquee question on this year’s statewide election ballot is Proposition HH, a referred measure from the state legislature supported by Gov. Jared Polis to slow the increase on property taxes after an historic runup of home values in Colorado over the last few years. Proposition HH limits the pain for homeowners while ensuring that school districts funded by property taxes don’t lose out in the bargain.

In keeping with the spirit and letter of the 1992 so-called Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), Proposition HH asks voters to raise the TABOR-imposed spending cap by 1% annually, which depending on whether rosy or dour economic projections prevail could reduce–but will in all likelihood not eliminate–TABOR refund checks to taxpayers. Here’s what the Colorado Fiscal Institute says about the long-term impact of Proposition HH on TABOR refunds:

If Proposition HH passes, the average homeowner in Colorado will get $1,336 over the next three years in property tax savings and still receive $1,690 in TABOR refunds. Netting the property tax savings with expected reductions to state refunds over the whole decade, Proposition HH will result in $2,682 net savings.

CFI modeled two 10-year scenarios to gauge the net benefit of HH, that include the foregone TABOR rebates and property tax savings. One model includes a recession, while the other assumes no recession. Recessions would reduce the revenue over the TABOR cap, thereby reducing TABOR rebates…

If Prop HH passes, taxpayers can still expect between $300 and $1,300 in TABOR rebates a year, with the foregone rebate dollars going to backfill the budgets of critical services, like fire, water, and schools. Overall, Proposition HH provides significant property tax relief while protecting local services and allowing school districts to benefit from expected growth even with these property tax reductions – giving districts nearly $1 billion in additional revenue per year by the end of the decade. Finally, Proposition HH maintains large and growing TABOR refunds for Colorado taxpayers when Colorado’s economy grows. [Pols emphasis]

It’s necessary to lay out these facts in order to understand just how deceptive this mail piece from Koch cartel conservative agit-prop group Americans for Prosperity that arrived in mailboxes statewide this week really is. The answer: egregiously.

We’ve edited these images to ensure as best we can that we are not responsible for spreading false information. As you can read above, Proposition HH does not reduce TABOR tax refunds “to zero.” In reality, Proposition HH will result in an immediate TABOR refund of $832 to every taxpayer, and future refunds will depend as they do today on revenues collected–subject to a 1% annual increase of the TABOR spending cap. This ad also inexplicably claims that this would all be done “without asking your permission,” when that is the literal purpose of going to the voters with Proposition HH.

What we have here once again is a tactic we’ve seen countless times over the years: conservatives aggressively promoting an audaciously false claim, and daring their opponents to call them out on their theory that mere discussion of the subject damages the other side more. Last fall, Republican congressional candidate Barb Kirkmeyer attempted a similar gambit in the closing days of her campaign, with a TV spot claiming “Democrats legalized fentanyl” that backfired after being loudly called out for its falsehoods–and even prompting on-air discussion by local journalists about the difference between a merely false statement and a deliberate lie.

They’re doing it again, folks. A lie landing in mailboxes across the state, daring the truth to catch up if it can.

As long as there’s a chance of voters rewarding it, they’ll never stop.