by John Gaudio,
HB 1192 would tax software and software services in ways never before attempted in Colorado. Not only is this bill clearly unconstitutional, it creates totally new taxes, not even pretending to be fees, as did Governor Ritter's new taxes on automobile and trailer registrations. It is ill conceived and will not generate a nickel of net revenue, but will instead cost Colorado jobs, local businesses, and the very real revenues that many of those jobs and businesses produce today.
Businesses are the Geese that provide all of us, including the government, the golden eggs, (revenues) that keep us all going. HB 1192, even more than most of these other bills that Governor Ritter and the Democratically controlled Colorado House and Senate are trying to shove down our throats, will kill many of our geese, and greatly sicken nearly all of them, driving many businesses out of Colorado, and drastically cutting the revenue that those jobs and businesses currently generate.
My friend, Robert Spalding, in his email to House Representative Jim Riesberg, jim.riesberg@house50.com, said "If you vote yes on this issue, you will wear that vote like a cheap suit for the rest of your hopefully short tenure in the Colorado Legislature.
If you vote no on the other hand, there will be other ways to either cut the budget, or raise revenues that are FAR less onerous than placing a new tax on virtually every business and household in this state.
Although the language of HB1192 claims to remove an exemption, it does nothing of the sort. It directly adds taxes to an entirely new class of business via adding new definitions to the plain meaning of Tangible Property.
Not only that, the new definition is so vague, that it is entirely possible that any software, or web service such as "free e-mail" hosted on servers in our state could fall under the new tax.
The State Constitution (TABOR Amendment) prohibits raising or assessing any new taxes without voter approval."
Well said, Robert. Thank you.
In New Jersey, Virginia, and Massachusetts, politicians ignored the people they were elected to serve, and the people replaced them. States that had been solid blue, and voted for Obama in November of '08, voted red a year later. Colorado voters will remember how our representatives vote on these issues. Those who vote for bigger government and more taxes, will be replaced by those who favor less interference from the government, and more freedom. Vote wisely. "We The People," are watching you closely! |
