Everywhere I go in Colorado, families tell me the same story. The paycheck comes in on Friday, and by Monday it has been eaten alive by taxes, fees and charges nobody voted for and few understand. You feel it at the gas pump, on your utility bill, in your registration renewal and at the grocery store checkout. 

The political class in Denver insists they have not “raised taxes,” yet government keeps getting bigger while your wallet gets thinner. That is no accident. It is the result of a deliberate strategy to walk around TABOR and take more from you without ever asking your permission.

More than thirty years ago, Coloradans passed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights because we understood a basic truth: when politicians can grow government without asking, they will. TABOR requires government to come to you before raising taxes or exceeding spending limits. It forces the same discipline families use at the kitchen table: prioritize, budget and live within your means. 

In plain terms, TABOR is a promise that government will ask permission before reaching deeper into your pocket.

That promise has protected Colorado through good times and bad. When revenue grows, TABOR says the surplus belongs to you, not to permanent government expansion. That discipline has helped keep our state competitive as we have grown. 

But TABOR is constantly under attack because career politicians see it as an obstacle, not a commitment.

Instead of respecting its spirit, many have worked to get around it. They discovered that if they label something a “fee” instead of a tax, they can often avoid going to voters. The result has been a quiet explosion of charges on services, registrations, transactions and permits. 

If it hits your wallet like a tax and you cannot avoid it like a tax, then it is a tax. Yet too often these charges are buried in complex bills, hidden in utility statements, or wrapped in bureaucratic language no one outside the Capitol uses. There is no honest conversation, no ballot question, just another line item showing up. 

That is not what Coloradans voted for when we adopted TABOR.

I meet welders on the Western Slope, single parents in Aurora, small business owners in Greeley and veterans on fixed incomes. They do not talk about “enterprises” or “revenue streams.” They talk about gas, rent, groceries and whether they can afford a weekend with their kids outdoors. 

When government hides its growth behind fees, those families do not get a say. They just see more of their paycheck disappear.

TABOR was designed to guarantee that any increase in the government’s take is honest, transparent and approved by voters. Using fees to dodge that principle may pass a legal test, but it fails the test of basic honesty that Coloradans expect.

As governor, I will treat TABOR not as a hurdle, but as a promise. I will oppose any effort, whether through amendments, statutes or budget maneuvers, that weakens voter approval for higher taxes. If politicians want more of your money, they should make their case to you directly.

I will also lead the effort to rein in abusive fees. That means ensuring any broad, mandatory charge that funds general government falls under TABOR protections, no matter what it is called. We will shine a light on fee-funded “enterprises” and unwind the gimmicks that allow government to grow out of sight. 

My standard is simple: if it walks like a tax and hits your wallet like a tax, we will treat it like a tax.

Colorado’s success has never come from bigger bureaucracies. It has come from people taking risks, building businesses, raising families and serving their communities. TABOR reflects a principle I believe deeply: government should trust the people with the power of the purse.

As governor, I will defend TABOR and dismantle the maze of hidden fees that undermine it. I want a Colorado where government looks you in the eye, tells you what it wants to spend, and accepts your answer at the ballot box. 

That is what respect for taxpayers looks like, and that is the leadership I will bring to the governor’s office.

Victor Marx is a candidate in the Republican primary for Colorado governor.