Colorado’s Competitive Standing to Attract Business
IP-3-2013 (February 2013)
Author: Sam Beck
Introduction:
This paper explores a compilation of Colorado rankings from the “2013 State and Business Tax Climate Index.”
Preventing Bankruptcy in State and Local Pension Plans in Colorado
IP-11-2012 (August 2012)
Author: Barry Poulson
Executive Summary:
State and local governments report the funding status of their pension plans in financial statements following standards set by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Historically, those standards allowed state and local governments to use an actuarial model and to discount liabilities based on the long-term yield on the assets held in the pension fund. The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) uses an 8 percent discount rate comparable to that used in most state and local pension plans. GASB also allowed state and local governments to use a smoothing technique to calculate the funding status of the plans. With this smoothing technique, losses incurred on assets in one year could be averaged over several years.
Does Colorado Fail to Spend State Taxes on Services?
IP-9-2012 (June 2012)
Author: Nate Neligh
Executive Summary:
Policy debates frequently turn on whether the government is spending at a reasonable level, and that is defined by the relative spending in other states. Relatively low rankings are presumed to indicate of under-spending by Colorado governments. The low rankings, however, are inconsistent with Colorado’s overall ranking for tax burden, which is close to the national median. We examine many claims relating to Colorado government spending overall, in K-12 education, in higher education, and in healthcare, and we conclude that most are misinterpreted or overstated. Colorado collects the national average in taxes,
so how could it be that support for government programs is so uniformly near the bottom?
Solving the Funding Crises in PERA
IP-5-2012 (May 2012)
Author: Barry Poulson
Executive Summary:
The paper is based on testimony presented to the Senate Finance Committee regarding the soundness of the Public Employees Retirement Association fund. Dr. Poulson recommends steps to fix the actuarial problems, and modifying the retirement.
How Colorado’s Tax Burdens Rank Nationally
IP-1-2012 (January 2012)
Author: Anthony Ryan Gonzalez
PDF of full Issue Paper
Sribd version of full Issue Paper
Executive Summary:
Residents of Colorado should know how their tax burden compares with Americans throughout the nation. Colorado ranks 26th nationally, compared to all other states for the combined state and local tax burden, on a per capita basis.
Proposition 103: What is the Cost to Colorado Taxpayers?
IP-7-2011 (October 2011)
Author: Barry Poulson and John D. Merrifield
PDF of full Issue Paper
Scribd version of full Issue Paper
Introduction:
Proposition 103 is an initiative that will increase Colorado tax rates and require the state to spend the money on government schools. Prop 103 increases the personal income tax, the corporate income tax, and the statewide sales and use tax for the years 2012 through 2016.
The Fiscal Impact Statement prepared by Colorado’s Legislative Council Staff estimates the cost of the tax increase at $2.9 billion. However, the cost for Colorado taxpayers will be significantly greater than staff estimates. Legislative Council uses static analysis, measuring only the direct impact of the higher taxes on state revenue. They ignore the negative impact the tax increase will have on economic growth and jobs in Colorado.
How to Save a Billion Dollars in Other Post-Employment Benefit Costs
IP-3-2010 (August 2010)
Author: Barry W. Poulson
PDF of full Issue Paper
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Executive Summary:
This study focuses on the retiree health plan administered by the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA). The PERA Health Care Program is a cost sharing multiple-employer plan. The “employers” in this context are the various governments that hire most public employees, such as public school teachers, fire fighters, police officers and state employees. Under this program, PERA subsidizes a portion of the premium for health care coverage, and the retiree pays any remaining amount of that premium. The Colorado legislature created the Health Care Trust Fund in 1999 to provide state subsidies to the Health Care Program.
Levels of Long-Term Debt Within Colorado’s Local Government
IP-5-2010 (July 2010)
Author: Ester Gabrielle
PDF of full Issue Paper
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Executive Summary:
The world is seeing levels of unprecedented government debt. However, the media focuses mostly on debt levels of national and state governments. For the most part, the general public has ignored the subject of local government debt. The root cause of this ignorance lies in the difficulty associated with uncovering information on local debt.
To read the rest of IP-5-2010, visit “Levels of Long-Term Debt Within Colorado’s Local Government” here.
PERA Falls Off A Cliff
IP-9-2009 (August 2009)
Author: Barry Poulson
PDF of full Issue Paper
Sribd version of full Issue Paper
Executive Summary:
The Public Employees Retirement System (PERA) in Colorado is experiencing a funding crisis. The recent collapse of financial markets has resulted in a significant decrease in the value of the PERA portfolio. But the funding crisis in PERA is not just the result of problems in financial markets.
A Fiscal Roadmap for Colorado
IP-8-2009 (July 2009)
Author: Barry W. Poulson
PDF of full Issue Paper
Sribd version of full Issue Paper
Executive Summary:
Colorado appears to be at a crossroads similar to that in California in the late 1980s. At that point California was a dynamic growing economy. That prosperity reflected a fiscal constitution that kept the growth of government in line with the growth of the private economy. California’s GANN Amendment, which was a precursor of the TABOR Amendment in Colorado, limited the growth of state revenue and spending to the sum of inflation and population growth. In the late 1980s, under pressure from the education employee lobby, the California legislature abandoned the GANN Amendment, and the rest is history.
To read the rest of A Fiscal Roadmap for Colorado (IP-8-2009), go here.
