The Colorado legislature shouldn't add another financial burden on average working people -- but that's the direction they are headed.
As the news report below shows, the legislature is moving towards a $25 hike for auto registration fees. Now, gasoline is at least $3.50 a gallon, health care premiums are higher this year, you're lucky if you can find a gallon of milk for under $3.00 ... all at the same time the value of your house is shrinking.
It is not the time for government to be adding any economic stress to working folks. Put simply, the way things are going, these Coloradoans just aren't going to have the money.
The state (and local and county) government needs to adopt a couple of notions about transportation and taxes/fees for the future. First -- no new road building. Period. Everything into maintenance. No funding of studies for new roads, no design for new roads -- we're going to have to live with what we've got. Second -- no more flat or across the board taxes or fees; it is time to end regressive extraction of money from our citizens. Until we institute a progressive state income tax in Colorado, I would encourage opposition to any new fees or taxes of any kind. The likes of John Elway could care less what the registration fee on a car is ... to me, it makes a difference.
Let's be clear, government when actually run by and for the people can be a helpful and productive way to deal with problems and improve the quality of our lives. But government operated for benefit of "road contractors, asphalt makers, the trucking industry and some business groups such as the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce" is not for us -- it is against us.
Link: Car Fees Bill Gains Traction in Committee | Rocky Mountain News
A proposed $25 hike for car registration fees passed its first test at the state Capitol on Monday, but the plan to raise more money for highway and bridge maintenance still faces an uphill climb.
The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted 3-2 to back the fee hike, along with two other increases - a hike in ownership taxes for some slightly older cars and a $6-a-day fee on all rental cars - and send them to the appropriations committee. The vote was along party lines, with all Democrats voting for the measure (Senate Bill 244) and all Republicans voting against it.
The bill is being pushed by road contractors, asphalt makers, the trucking industry and some business groups such as the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, as lawmakers rush to finish business by the close of their session next week. The measure also is supported by the state transportation department as well as mayors and town managers from Northglenn, Commerce City, Broomfield and Frisco. They testified in support of the bill Monday.
The only opponents in the room were representatives of rental car companies and Farmers Insurance, who said that Coloradans who rented cars while theirs was in the shop would be hit with the $6 fee, not just tourists. Together with current taxes, they estimate that the total tax on rental cars in Denver would be about 33 percent. ... MORE
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