Some of you out there might be thinking; it's a good year to tighten your belt a little bit and maybe not spend money you don't have-- well you should know that if that's the way you feel then you're not in line with the majority of our state legislators.
Confronted with dwindling revenues to fund the fastest-growing phases of state government we've seen in a long time, the left wing majority at the legislature has just dug a little deeper into your pocket for their programs.
This legislative session has resulted in the imposition of over $1 billion in new levies that will impact a broad swath of Coloradans in the coming year.
Senate Republican leader Josh Penry: "Whether you're paying your vehicle registration, your family's health insurance premium or your property-tax bill, there's a good chance you'll pay more. There's even a fee hike to get married."
"The Republicans said the list of Democrat-imposed tax and fee hikes includes:(from the Colorado Senate News)
- A $250 million-a-year hike in vehicle-registration fees--ostensibly to fund transportation--with the price of registering the typical family car going up $30 to $40.
- A $600 million-a-year fee imposed on the state's hospitals in an attempt to leverage more federal Medicaid funding for the poor; Republicans said the ripple effects are sure to trickle down through higher health-plan premiums for everyone else.
- A $90 million jump in property taxes for seniors, who will lose their homestead exemption.
- An increase in the amount of sales-tax revenue retailers will have to forward to the state, costing small businesses and other stores another $31 million a year.
- A hike in the tax on capital gains on some Colorado investments, costing businesses and investors $7 million the first year and $16 million the next.
- Democats also voted to remove the sales-tax exemption on already-heavily taxed cigarettes--claiming another $30 million.
