Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Colorado

Anti-Tax Revolts Backfire: What We’ve Learned from 50 Years of Property Tax Limits

Across-the-board property tax cuts create less fair local tax systems in the long run. State legislators and local governments should prioritize the residents who can least afford their property taxes, not the residents and businesses who can.

How Much Would Every Family in Every State Get if the Megabill’s Tax Cuts Given to the Rich Had Instead Been Evenly Divided?

If instead of giving $117 billion to the richest 1 percent, that money had been evenly divided among all Americans, we'd each get $343 - or nearly $1,400 for a family of four.

The Bell Policy Center: Colorado’s Rural Communities Will Suffer from the Federal Budget Bill

July 11, 2025

It’s been widely acknowledged that the bill’s benefits and burdens will be unequally felt. Yet, within these analyses, impacts on the urban-rural divide are often overlooked. As we detail below, the federal bill is likely to worsen the economic well-being of rural Colorado while providing substantial benefit to affluent suburban and mountain resort communities.

State Rundown 7/8: State Tax Cuts Continue Despite Federal Megabill Passing

The last states are wrapping up legislative sessions, and some are crossing the finish line with major income tax cuts.

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Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Trump Megabill as Signed into Law: National and State Level Estimates

July 7, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff, Carl Davis, Joe Hughes, Jessica Vela

Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Trump Megabill as Signed into Law: National and State Level Estimates

President Trump has signed into law the tax and spending “megabill” that largely favors the richest taxpayers and provides working-class Americans with relatively small tax cuts that will in many cases be more than offset by Trump's tariffs.

Megabill Takes Cap Off Unprecedented Private School Voucher Tax Credit, Potentially Raising Cost by Tens of Billions Relative to Earlier Version

It is clear that this tax credit has the potential to come with an enormous cost if private school groups are successful in convincing their supporters to participate. In these times of very high debt and deficits, this is reason for all of us to be uneasy.

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Local Tax Trends in 2025

July 1, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson

Local Tax Trends in 2025

As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.

Trump Megabill Will Give $117 Billion in Tax Cuts to the Top 1% in 2026. How Much In Your State?

The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a $114 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.

How Much Do the Top 1% in Each State Get from the Trump Megabill?

The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.

The ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill Creates a $5 Billion Tax Shelter for Private School Donors

On May 22, Congress passed the House reconciliation bill or “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by a one-vote margin. The bill’s dozens of destructive tax provisions would supercharge inequality and force devastating cuts to health and food aid that have been bedrocks of the American safety net since the 1960s.

Colorado Fiscal Institute: One Big Beautiful Betrayal

May 27, 2025

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) highlights just how lopsided the bill’s tax provisions are.

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Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

May 22, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jessica Vela, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff

Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the House reconciliation bill's net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive two-thirds of the tax cuts. The richest 5 percent alone would receive a little less than half of the net tax cuts that year.

State Rundown 5/21: Big and Not-So Beautiful Tax Cut Bills Abound in States

As a sprawling, regressive tax bill continues to take shape at the federal level, many states are moving forward with major tax cut proposals of their own.

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Trump 2025 Tax Law: Research and Resources

May 2, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Trump 2025 Tax Law: Research and Resources

Want to know more about the tax and spending megabill that President Trump recently signed into law? We've got you covered.

State Rundown 4/16: No Vacation from Spring Tax Breaks as Bills Advance

While students and families are enjoying spring break vacations, legislative sessions are still in full swing. And some are poised for a spring tax break season as proposals advance with major implications for the sustainability of state budgets.  

IRS Cooperation with ICE Will Damage Public Trust, Putting Tax Revenues in Jeopardy

Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to secure private information from the IRS on people who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a violation of federal privacy laws that protect taxpayers. It is also a change that could seriously damage public trust in the IRS, which could jeopardize billions of dollars in tax payments by hardworking immigrant families.

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State Rundown 4/9: A Progressive Pushback

April 9, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 4/9: A Progressive Pushback

Residents and state lawmakers across the country are pushing back against anti-tax measures and are looking for ways to protect revenue and advance proposals that would raise revenue in progressive ways. This comes at a time when federal policy brings significant risks for state tax revenue.

State Rundown 4/3: Amidst Tariff Uncertainty, State Lawmakers Talk Taxes

While all eyes are on the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign imports, state lawmakers are moving forward with a mix of deep, regressive tax cuts and progressive revenue raisers.

State Rundown 3/20: It’s March, Welcome to Tax Policy Madness

March Madness kicks off today and the pressure is on as many states’ legislative sessions are nearing the final buzzer. Some state lawmakers are seemingly competing for the title of most regressive state tax policies while others are looking to lift up best practices for more equitable outcomes.   The Mississippi legislature landed on a […]

State Rundown 3/12: Last-Minute Tax Cut Mayhem and New Progressive Revenue Raisers

A bevy of tax cut proposals sprung to life this week while others were signed into law. In Kentucky, lawmakers are working to make it easier for the legislature to enact income and business tax cuts. The governor in Idaho signed into law a personal and corporate income tax cut.

State Approaches to Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI)

Many states with corporate income taxes include some amount of federally defined Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) in their tax bases. Twenty-one states plus D.C. include some amount of GILTI in their tax calculations in 2025.

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High-Rent, Low-Wealth: Addressing the Racial Wealth Gap through a Federal Renter Credit

March 3, 2025 • By Brakeyshia Samms, Emma Sifre, Joe Hughes

High-Rent, Low-Wealth: Addressing the Racial Wealth Gap through a Federal Renter Credit

While the federal tax code has some policies focused on raising income of low earners, it contains fewer provisions designed specifically to address wealth inequality. A renter tax credit offers a simple, administratively practical means of reaching low-wealth populations through the federal tax code without requiring a comprehensive measurement of every household’s wealth.

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State-by-State Tax Expenditure Reports

March 1, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Below is a list of tax expenditure reports published in the states.

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Wide-Ranging 2025 State Tax Debates Come into Focus

February 20, 2025 • By Aidan Davis

Wide-Ranging 2025 State Tax Debates Come into Focus

In the face of immense uncertainty around looming federal tax and budget decisions, many of which could threaten state budgets, state lawmakers have an opportunity to show up for their constituents by raising and protecting the revenue needed to fund shared priorities. Lawmakers have a choice: advance tax policies that improve equity and help communities thrive, or push tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, drain funding for critical public services, and make it harder for most families to get ahead. 

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A Revenue Analysis of Worldwide Combined Reporting in the States

February 20, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Matthew Gardner, Michael Mazerov

A Revenue Analysis of Worldwide Combined Reporting in the States

Universal adoption of mandatory worldwide combined reporting would boost state corporate income tax revenues by roughly 14 percent. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia would experience revenue increases totaling $19.1 billion.