Gov. Polis announced Colorado taxpayers will get a $400 refund this summer using Taxpayer Bill of Rights refunds that Democrats like him once wanted to eliminate entirely.
Democrats have been critics of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights since the beginning and regularly try to overturn it, which makes their sudden support especially comical.
The refunds Polis announced Monday were already mandated under this law, but Democrats decided to advance the payments from next spring to August, just before the fall midterms.
They are engaging in some unprecedented election year shenanigans:
“It’s money that would have to be refunded anyway. They just changed how it’s refunded – and are sending it before the election,” [Michael Fields] told Colorado Politics. “This is an election year ploy to try to get Coloradans to forget about all the fees and taxes that Democrats have passed during the last 3 years.”
This is a good time to remind everyone that Governor Polis:
-opposed TABOR refunds in 2019
-decriminalized fentanyl in 2019
-raised the gas tax in 2021
-raised property taxes in 2021 #copolitics— Michael Fields (@MichaelCLFields) April 25, 2022
The move is an incredibly shameless shift for Polis, who campaigned along with Democrats in the state legislature for Proposition CC in 2019.
The measure would have allowed the state to keep the very Taxpayer Bill of Rights refunds that Polis will no doubt feature in ads for his reelection this year.
Polis does have one small problem here.
Prop CC was actually defeated with the help of Heidi Ganahl, who co-chaired the No on CC campaign in 2019.
There he goes again… Election Year Jared claiming credit for “giving” money back that would have been rebates under TABOR. The same TABOR he tried to get rid of a couple years ago! #ElectionYearJared #DoNotBeFooled https://t.co/rDr8DmoS7E
— Heidi Ganahl (@heidiganahl) April 25, 2022
How ironic. You can expect to hear Ganahl mention that once or twice this campaign season.
Polis’s $400 refund checks are also effectively lower than what many taxpayers would have otherwise received under the existing TABOR refund formula, including for many middle class households.
Here's how this plan is expected to affect the payouts for this $1.46 billion pot of money. pic.twitter.com/CxnowTVwHT
— Andrew Kenney (@AndyKnny) April 25, 2022
Politically, it shouldn’t be too surprising Polis is treating TABOR refunds like bribes to buy votes just before the election.
Inflation and crime are still spiraling out of control, Biden’s approval rating shows no signs of recovering, and generic ballot polling looks atrocious for Democrats.
If anything, this Hail Mary from Polis only underscores how desperate Democrats are to rescue their political fortunes in Colorado.