Governor Bill Ritter is not one to back down from raising taxes—or a photo op. The Post reports that yesterday Governor Bill Ritter personally helped haul his tax increase petitions to the Secretary of State’s office.
With a stubborn resolve — and a
dolly — Gov. Bill Ritter helped cart hundreds of thousands of signatures to the
secretary of state's office Monday in order to place on the ballot a proposal
to eliminate an oil and gas industry tax credit.
The initiative is the first Ritter
has put his political weight behind as governor, and he acknowledged Monday
that taking on one of the state's largest industries will be a tough fight.
"It's really about sound tax policy," Ritter said at a rally before delivering the signatures. "There are times when you provide a tax incentive to grow an industry. This is not the time for oil and gas."
Bill Ritter’s idea of sound tax policy is suspect based on his previous actions, such as his illegal property tax freeze. This proposal will allegedly increase State revenues $300 million, play money with which Ritter will spread around to his allies in the “green” industries and to college scholarships. While this initiative may sound benign at first glance, there are multiple reasons why this initiative would be bad news for Colorado.
Primarily, this tax increase will remove a local property tax credit from the energy producers. Currently, the local ad velorum tax is credited against the severance tax bill, thus lowering production costs. Removing this credit will increase the amount of taxes that these companies pay. Obviously, the companies will pass increased production costs onto customers. This means that consumer heating bills will increase for all of Colorado’s citizens. At $300 million, this translates roughly to $63 per person per year. Industries that rely on natural gas and energy will also see increased prices and pass those on to the consumers.
Secondly, more state-financed college scholarships will encourage Colorado universities to increase tuition even more. Already, both University of Colorado and Colorado State University raised tuition over 9 percent for the upcoming year. Why colleges are raising rates much faster than the rate of inflation is another topic for another day. However, this gives them further license to raise rates while benefitting few people.
Finally, this tax increase is part of a pattern of Bill Ritter. Bill Ritter’s positions on energy production fit squarely with the Delay, Don’t Drill, Do-Nothing Democrats in Congress. From stacking the Office of Consumer Council with anti-energy environmentalists to appearing in silly, taxpayer funded “green” commercials, Bill Ritter’s legacy will be nothing more than busting the budget to provide taxpayer giveaways to environmental groups.
The only possible positive outcome of Ritter’s taxation and energy regulation zealousness would be him leaving as a one-term governor. Unfortunately, he still has two more years to wreak havoc on the economy before he again answers to the voters of Colorado.
by Civil Sense
Comments