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Colorado Graduated Tax Initiative Draws Major Support From Democratic Lawmaker’s Nonprofit
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Graduated Tax Initiative Draws Major Support From Democratic Lawmaker’s Nonprofit

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – State Rep. Lorena Garcia, a Westminster Democrat, has been working overtime to ensure a progressive state income tax initiative makes it in front of Colorado voters this November, including donating big bucks via a tax-funded nonprofit to the issue committee charged with getting the measure on the ballot. If passed, Initiative 195 would raise the current flat tax rate of 4.4 percent to 7.4 percent for those earning more than $500,000, and increasing as incomes rise to a top rate of 8.4 percent for those earning more than $1 million. A majority of Colorado taxpayers might see a slight income tax reduction, with many eventually getting caught up in the graduated brackets, as they are not indexed for inflation. ...
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Colorado’s Citizen Initiative Process Faces Growing Influence From Deep Pockets
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado’s Citizen Initiative Process Faces Growing Influence From Deep Pockets

By Colleen Slevin | The Colorado Sun High cost of getting a measure on the ballot has given wealthy interests more power to push their agendas. Colorado loves its ballot questions, ranking among the top states for the most on the ballot. But voters also like to say no — a lot. In the over 100 years that Colorado voters have been able to petition to put questions on the state’s ballot, only 36% of the 256 questions that made it on the ballot have passed, according to a tally by the state legislature. Questions referred to the ballot by state lawmakers have done better, passing nearly 60% of the time. Between 1960 and 2024, Colorado had the third highest number of voter-initiated ballot measures, behind California and Oregon, according to John Mat...
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El Paso County’s public safety tax returns to the ballot with a change to oversight
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

El Paso County’s public safety tax returns to the ballot with a change to oversight

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Heads up El Paso County: you've got a tax to vote on in November and I believe you can speak up about it in your local Grey Book! Per the Tribune article linked at bottom, El Paso County Commissioners approved a ballot measure to extend a sales tax whose proceeds go to help fund the sheriff's office. The tax originally started in 2012 and has been extended a few times since. In its current iteration, it is slated to end in 2029, but commissioners approved a ballot measure which would extend it to 2037.  If you live in El Paso County, take a minute to carefully review the ballot measure. There were a couple things in the article that would have raised an eyebrow for me if I were voting on it. Quoting: "...
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A mass of contradictions: One writer’s read on Phil Weiser’s plan for Colorado
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

A mass of contradictions: One writer’s read on Phil Weiser’s plan for Colorado

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado “Democrats lay out plan to win supermajority in Colorado Legislature,” reads a recent headline from the left-leaning Colorado Newsline. So how might Governor Phil Weiser interact with the legislature, whether or not Democrats reach their goals for legislative seats? For that we can turn to his 109-page “blueprint” Unsurprisingly, Weiser wants to be all things to all people. He talks about freedom, prosperity, and a business-friendly environment out of one side of his mouth while promoting tax and spending hikes and tighter regulations out of the other. Housing affordability Unaffordable housing exacerbates various other problems, starting, of course, with homelessness. It makes child care less available and mor...
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A blueprint of contradictions: Weiser courts business while expanding union power
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

A blueprint of contradictions: Weiser courts business while expanding union power

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado “Democrats lay out plan to win supermajority in Colorado Legislature,” reads a recent headline from the left-leaning Colorado Newsline. So how might Governor Phil Weiser interact with the legislature, whether or not Democrats reach their goals for legislative seats? For that we can turn to his 109-page “blueprint.” Unsurprisingly, Weiser wants to be all things to all people. He talks about freedom, prosperity, and a business-friendly environment out of one side of his mouth while promoting tax and spending hikes and tighter regulations out of the other. Housing affordability Unaffordable housing exacerbates various other problems, starting, of course, with homelessness. It makes child care less available and more expensive, b...
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Colorado Graduated Income Tax Proposal Heads to Signature Review
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Graduated Income Tax Proposal Heads to Signature Review

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The measure, which eliminates Colorado’s flat tax, is expected to raise $2 billion in new revenue The proposal to amend the Colorado constitution to change the state’s flat rate into a graduated income tax came in under the wire Monday, the deadline for groups to turn in petition signatures for November’s ballot, setting up a high-stakes battle over revenue. Backers of the graduated tax proposal — which would marginally decrease the tax liability for the lower ends of the new bracket, while raising taxes for others — turned in 157,000 signatures with about an hour to go before the 5 p.m. deadline. The proposal, if approved at the ballot box, is expected to generate $2 billion more in tax revenue for the state. Doze...
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Two measures. Two opposite answers. One Colorado income tax rate.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Two measures. Two opposite answers. One Colorado income tax rate.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado voters may face a choice in November between two measures that couldn't disagree more about the state income tax. One would replace the flat rate with a graduated system and raise close to $2 billion a year. The other would make it illegal to raise the rate at all. Neither one is a new idea. And the differences between them go deeper than the rate. What each one does Colorado's income tax has been flat since 1987, meaning everyone pays the same percentage regardless of what they earn. The rate is currently 4.40 percent. Initiative 195, backed by a coalition led by the Bell Policy Center, would replace that with six brackets.  The Legislative Council Staff, which produces nonpartisan fiscal analys...
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Colorado’s new insurance fee enterprise can lower or stop collecting to stay under Proposition 117
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s new insurance fee enterprise can lower or stop collecting to stay under Proposition 117

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The signed law says the enterprise will collect less than $100 million in five years. The Legislature's fiscal note puts the figure at $99.6 million. New Colorado enterprises that want to collect more than $100 million in their first five fiscal years have to ask voters first. That's what voters approved in 2020 with Proposition 117. One created this year is projected to collect $99.6 million. The fee that funds it gets cut by more than half after the first year. Premiums grow every year in the state's own projection. The rate drops anyway. Gov. Jared Polis signed SB26-155 into law on June 4. The measure creates the Strengthen Colorado Homes Enterprise within the Division of Insurance and takes effect Aug. 12. Sens. Kyle Mullica...
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If more education spending works, why not require proof?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

If more education spending works, why not require proof?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project This coming November voters will be deciding on Proposition NN and possibly Initiative 195, the former being a referred measure by our state legislature and the latter a ballot initiative which as of this writing was out for signatures with no definitive answer on whether it will be on the ballot yet. Both measures are of the type I like to label with “won’t someone think of the children?!” That is, both of them are geared emotionally to tap into the completely natural desire to help children. The thing is, there are some problems with the reasoning in both. To demonstrate, I will lean heavily on the well-written op ed about education funding from one of the interns at the Independence Institute (as well a...
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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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