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Montana Looks To Colorado’s Flat Tax Legacy As Colorado Debates Progressive Alternative
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Montana Looks To Colorado’s Flat Tax Legacy As Colorado Debates Progressive Alternative

By Nash Herman | Complete Colorado While Montana is poised to learn from the flat tax success stories of Colorado and other Western states, the push for a progressive income tax in Colorado threatens the very policies that made the state successful in the first place.  Some history  Colorado and Montana both implemented progressive individual income taxes in the 1930s during the Great Depression.   However, Colorado was one of the first states to join the “flat tax revolution” when it implemented a single flat rate of 5 percent for all incomes in 1987.  Then, through rate cuts at the turn of the century and Independence Institute-led Propositions 116 and 121 in 2020 and 2022, Colorado lowere...
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Inflationary Bracket Creep With Initiative 195 Could Push More Coloradans Into Higher Tax Brackets
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Inflationary Bracket Creep With Initiative 195 Could Push More Coloradans Into Higher Tax Brackets

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Initiative 195, the proposed ‘progressive’ income tax ballot measure, promises long-term pain for Colorado taxpayers due to what economists call “bracket creep.”  But we do not need to speculate about the impact of bracket creep, as we can already see its effect in action since voters passed Proposition FF in 2022.  Proposition FF Through Proposition FF, voters decided to increase taxes on high-income Colorado earners to support a universal school lunch program.  The measure capped state deductions for tax filers with a federal adjusted gross income exceeding $300,000 and directed new revenue to the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program.   READ THE FUL...
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Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Raises Long-Term Bracket Creep Concerns
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Raises Long-Term Bracket Creep Concerns

By Nash Herman | Complete Colorado Proponents of a progressive state income tax claim that it will give most Coloradans a break on their taxes.   Those familiar with history, inflation, and bracket creep see a much different long-term picture.   Repeating history The US adopted a federal income tax in 1913, justified by the claim that only about one percent of the population would pay the tax in its earliest years.  Does this sound familiar?   Proponents of Initiative 195, the ballot measure to switch Colorado’s 4.4 percent flat income tax rate to a progressive tax, are adamant that the measure is fair because 97 percent of filers will receive a tax cut.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COMPLETE COLORAD...
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Colorado Health Care Costs Keep Climbing Despite Growing State Subsidies
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Health Care Costs Keep Climbing Despite Growing State Subsidies

By: Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado In economics, it is well understood that the larger a business becomes, the more cheaply it can produce goods or services due to lower relative fixed costs, more technical know-how, and increased specialization.  Why then is Colorado’s largest industry in terms of employment–health care–only becoming more expensive?  Subsidies inflate costs Let’s back up. In 1990, Colorado’s largest industry by employment was retail, which also dominated most of the rest of the country’s employment as well, along with manufacturing.  Along the way retail and manufactured goods became cheaper for consumers, as expected, relative to inflation.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COMPLETE COLORADO ...
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Medicaid Commission Begins Review as Colorado Spending Continues to Climb
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Medicaid Commission Begins Review as Colorado Spending Continues to Climb

By: Nash Herman | Complete Colorado Colorado’s interim Commission on Medicaid has begun meeting to address the explosive growth of the state’s health care spending.  Related concerns are also on the table, such as the management of the Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing (HCPF) and fraud, waste, and abuse.  Are legislators attacking these problems from the correct angles? Let’s find out.  Faulty premises The most recent Commission meeting raised questions about the government’s priorities in addressing Medicaid and the state budget.  A recurring theme of discussion —nothing new, yet one that actually exacerbates the very problem the Commission is attempting to address — is the idea that the health care fun...
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Taxpayers on the Hook When Government Programs Cost More Than Promised
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Taxpayers on the Hook When Government Programs Cost More Than Promised

By: Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Colorado’s state budget is structurally unsustainable, which majority Democrats say could be fixed by ending voter consent over new taxation or by increasing taxes on Colorado residents through a progressive income tax.  While those suggestions would certainly increase state revenue, they are unlikely to fix Colorado’s ongoing budget deficits.  Meanwhile, taxpayers often learn too late that programs are vastly exceeding costs; programs like Cover all Coloradans, Healthy School Meals for All, and the wolf reintroduction scheme were all revealed to be more expensive than initially advertised to voters.  Why do programs end up being so much more expensive than advertised?&n...
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