Coloradans are supposed to have a say when the state legislature increases taxes, and yet too many lawmakers have a weakness for weaseling around that law by using the term fees, instead of taxes.
The practice is so pervasive, the state now rakes in more than $27 billion a year in hidden fees costing each resident on average $4,600 a year, according to the Common Sense Institute.
For many Coloradans, that’s an entire month’s salary they are forking over just in fees.
Now comes another one of those nasty little buggers in the form of a delivery and ride-share fee, brought to you by the Democrat-controlled legislature and Gov. Polis.
With inflation raging and prices climbing faster than a Sherpa up Mt. Everest, this would be a terrible time to impose a 27-cent tax for every deliver and ride.
Now it turns out that cities across the state are adding yet another tax onto this fee and essentially double-taxing us, at the same time governments are raking in buckets more in taxes thanks to high inflation and high prices.
Except for in Aurora, where Councilman Dustin Zvonek is working to stop that.
Whether it’s a fee or a tax, or a tax on a fee, it’s consumers who pay more. As #BidenInflation reaches new highs, govt needs to stop piling on.
Time to end the absurd practice of taxing taxes which is exactly what these “fees” really are. #copolitics https://t.co/Y2b299Gs6U
— Dustin Zvonek (@DustinZvonek) July 14, 2022
Shaun Boyd at CBS4 Denver reports:
The delivery fee is adjusted to inflation each year so it will almost certainly increase next year. The Colorado Municipal League is trying to get a handle on how many cities besides Aurora are taxing the delivery fee and other fees. It says 69 cities, including Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Boulder, self-collect local taxes like Aurora.
Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado Institute, is taking the state to court to block those fees, which were passed illegally without the approval of voters as required by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and Proposition 117.
Democrats are raising fees on deliveries and ridesharing without voter approval. On top of that, some localities are now taxing those fees.
So, we are suing Governor Polis for violating TABOR and Prop 117. #copolitics #coleg https://t.co/CCa3OKYb9n
— Michael Fields (@MichaelCLFields) July 14, 2022
When contacted for comment, Gov. Polis’s spokesperson completely avoided the issue at hand and basic mathmatics, and instead bragged the boss saved car owners five bucks on vehicle registration fees.
Just FYI, for folks who don’t own cars and rely on ride sharing, that’s not saving money.