Colorado
An Update on State Responses to the Federal Tax Bill
• By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
With many state fiscal years beginning July 1, most states that will make decisions this year about federal tax conformity have now done so, so it is now time for an update on how well state policymakers have kept to, or veered from, the path we charted out earlier this year. Most states that have enacted laws in response to the federal changes have adhered to some but not all of the principles we laid…
State Rundown 5/23: Special Sessions Abound Amid Budget Vetoes, Stalemates, Federal Tax Bill
• By ITEP Staff
This week the governors of Louisiana and Minnesota both vetoed budget bills, leading to another special session in Louisiana and unanswered questions in Minnesota, and Missouri legislators managed to push through a tax shift bill just before adjourning their regular session and heading right into a special session to impeach their governor. Wisconsin and Wyoming localities are both looking at ways to raise revenues as state funding drops. And our What We're Reading section contains…
SALT/Charitable Workaround Credits Require a Broad Fix, Not a Narrow One
• By Carl Davis
The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted last year temporarily capped deductions for state and local tax (SALT) payments at $10,000 per year. The cap, which expires at the end of 2025, disproportionately impacts taxpayers in higher-income states and in states and localities more reliant on income or property taxes, as opposed to sales taxes. Increasingly, lawmakers in those states who feel their residents were unfairly targeted by the federal law are debating…
State Rundown 5/17: Don’t Bet on Legal Sports Betting Solving State Budget Woes
• By ITEP Staff
This week the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to legal sports gambling in the states (see our What We're Reading section), which will surely be a hot topic in state legislative chambers, but most states currently have more pressing matters before them. The teacher pay crisis made news in North Carolina, Alabama, and nationally. Louisiana, Oregon, and Vermont lawmakers are headed for special sessions over tax and budget issues. And several other states have recently reached or are very near the end of their legislative sessions.
NC Teachers’ March on Raleigh and the Tax Cuts that Led Them There
• By Aidan Davis
Once again, public school teachers are taking a stand for education and against irresponsible, top-heavy tax cuts that deprive states of the revenue they need to sufficiently fund public services, including education.
Millionaires Average Annual Tax Cut in North Carolina Is Comparable to Average Teacher’s Salary
• By Meg Wiehe
North Carolina lawmakers' misplaced priorities are evident: The recent rounds of tax cuts will provide the state’s millionaires with an average annual tax break of more than $45,000, which is nearly as much as the average teacher’s annual salary of about $50,000.
State Rundown 5/9: Iowa Digs a New Hole as Other States Try to Avoid or Climb Out of Theirs
• By ITEP Staff
This week we have news of a destructive tax cut plan finally approved in Iowa just as one was narrowly avoided in Kansas. Tax debates in Minnesota and Missouri will go down to the wire. And residents of Arizona and Colorado are considering progressive revenue solutions to their states' education funding crises.
State Rundown 5/3: Progressive Revenue Solutions to Fiscal Woes Gaining Traction
• By ITEP Staff
This week, Arizona teachers continued to strike over pay issues and advocates unveiled a progressive revenue solution they hope to put before voters, while a progressive income tax also gained support as part of a resolution to Illinois's budget troubles. Iowa and Missouri legislators continued to try to push through unsustainable tax cuts before their sessions end. And Minnesota and South Carolina focused on responding to the federal tax-cut bill.
State Rundown 4/27: Arbor Day Brings Some Fruitful Tax Developments, Some Shady Proposals
• By ITEP Staff
This Arbor Day week, the seeds of discontent with underfunded school systems and underpaid teachers continued to spread, with walkouts occurring in both Arizona and Colorado. And recognizing the need to see the forest as well as the trees, the Arizona teachers have presented revenue solutions to get to the true root of the problem. In the plains states, tax cut proposals continue to pop up like weeds in Kansas and threaten to spread to…
State Rundown 12/31/9999: IRS Glitch and Legislative Impasses Extend Tax Season
• By ITEP Staff
This week the IRS website asked some would-be tax filers to return after December 31, 9999. State legislators don't have quite that much time, but are struggling to wrap up their tax debates on schedule as well. Iowa legislators, for example, are ironically still debating tax cuts despite having run out of money to cover their daily expenses for the year. Nebraska's session wrapped up, but its tax debate continues in the form of a…
Trends We’re Watching in 2018, Part 5: 21st Century Consumption Taxes
• By Misha Hill
We're highlighting the progress of a few newer trends in consumption taxation. This includes using the tax code to discourage consumption of everything from plastic bags to carbon and collecting revenue from emerging industries like ride sharing services and legalized cannabis sales.
What to Expect if the Supreme Court Allows for Online Sales Tax Collection
• By Carl Davis
Online shopping is hardly a new phenomenon. And yet states and localities still lack the authority to require many Internet retailers to collect the sales taxes that their locally based, brick and mortar competitors have been collecting for decades.
State Rundown 3/30: Several Major Tax Debates Will March on into April
• By ITEP Staff
This week, after the recent teacher strike in West Virginia, teacher pay crises brought on by years of irresponsible tax cuts also made headlines in Arizona and Oklahoma. Maine and New York lawmakers continue to hash out how they will respond to the federal tax bill. And their counterparts in Missouri and Nebraska attempt to push forward their tax cutting agendas.
Colorado Fiscal Institute: Pies & Charts: Mid-Session Briefing
• By ITEP Staff
Pies and Charts is the annual mid-session briefing hosted by Colorado Fiscal Institute.
Trends We’re Watching in 2018, Part 3: Improvements to Tax Credits for Workers and Families
• By Aidan Davis
This has been a big year for state action on tax credits that support low-and moderate-income workers and families. And this makes sense given the bad hand low- and middle-income families were dealt under the recent Trump-GOP tax law, which provides most of its benefits to high-income households and wealthy investors. Many proposed changes are part of states’ broader reaction to the impact of the new federal law on state tax systems. Unfortunately, some…
Amazon and Other E-Retailers Get a Free Pass from Some Local-Level Sales Taxes
• By Carl Davis
A new ITEP analysis reveals that in seven states (Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania), the nation’s largest e-retailer, Amazon.com, is either not collecting local-level sales taxes or is charging a lower tax rate than local retailers. In other states, such as Colorado and Illinois, Amazon is collecting local tax because it has an in-state presence, but localities cannot collect taxes from other e-retailers based outside the state.
Many Localities Are Unprepared to Collect Taxes on Online Purchases: Amazon.com and other E-Retailers Receive Tax Advantage Over Local Businesses
• By Carl Davis
Online retailer Amazon.com made headlines last year when it began collecting every state-level sales tax on its direct sales. Savvy observers quickly noted that this change did not affect the company’s large and growing “marketplace” business, where it conducts sales in partnership with third-parties and rarely collects tax. But far fewer have noticed that even on its direct sales, Amazon is still not collecting some local-level taxes.
Colorado Fiscal Institute: Forecast Five: March 2018 Revenue Estimates
• By ITEP Staff
As a result of TCJA, Legislative Council estimates the state will see increased revenue of $196.5 million in FY 2018-2019, and $329.8 million in increases in FY 2019-2020. However, new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy suggests the revenue increase next year could be closer to $28 million.
State Rundown 3/14: States Turn Fiscal Focus Inward
• By ITEP Staff
With many state legislative sessions about halfway through, the ripple effects of the federal tax-cut bill took a back seat this week as states focused their energies on their own tax and budget issues. Major proposals were released in Nebraska and New Jersey, one advanced in Missouri, and debates wrapped up in Florida, Utah, and Washington. Oklahoma and Vermont are considering ways to improve education funding, while California, New York, and Vermont look to require…
State Rundown 2/28: February a Long Month for State Tax Debates
• By ITEP Staff
February may be the shortest month but it has been a long one for state lawmakers. This week saw Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Utah seemingly approaching final decisions on how to respond to the federal tax-cut bill, while a bill that appeared cleared for take-off in Georgia hit some unexpected turbulence. Other states are still studying what the federal bill means for them, and many more continue to debate tax and budget proposals independently of…
State Rundown 2/14: To Couple or Not to Couple?
• By ITEP Staff
This Valentine's week finds California, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and other states flirting with the idea of coupling to various components of the federal tax-cut bill. Meanwhile, lawmakers seeking revenue solutions to budget shortfalls in Alaska, Oklahoma, and Wyoming saw their advances spurned, and anti-tax advocates in many states have been getting mixed responses to their tax-cut proposals. And be sure to check out our "what we're reading" section to see how states are…
Colorado Fiscal Institute: Effect of Federal Tax Law on Revenue for Colorado and Colorado Taxpayers
• By ITEP Staff
The Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI) has a long-time partnership with the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and their estimate of the impact on state revenue is significantly smaller than the current amounts predicted by the Colorado Legislature and the Colorado Governor’s Office. This brief explains the various components of the ITEP estimate.
Colorado Fiscal Institute: Colorado State Tax Basics
• By ITEP Staff
The Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI) promotes tax and budget policies that are effective, efficient, equitable, transparent and accountable. Each year, CFI takes positions on new legislation that affects the sustainability and equity in Colorado's state budget and tax system.
What the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Means for States – A Guide to Impacts and Options
• By ITEP Staff
The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has major implications for budgets and taxes in every state, ranging from immediate to long-term, from automatic to optional, from straightforward to indirect, from certain to unknown, and from revenue positive to negative. And every state can expect reduced federal investments in shared public priorities like health care, education, public safety, and basic infrastructure, as well as a reduced federal commitment to reducing economic inequality and…
State Rundown 1/25: States Begin Tax Debates while Still Racing to Understand Federal Bill
• By ITEP Staff
State legislative sessions are in full swing this week as states grapple with revenue shortfalls and the ramifications of the federal tax cut bill. Lawmakers in Alaska and Louisiana, for example, are debating how to handle their revenue shortfalls, and a tax cut proposal in Idaho has been received tepidly. And be sure to peruse our "What We're Reading" section for helpful perspectives on how states are affected by the federal tax cut bill.
