January 8, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
Colorado Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Colorado, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.2 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in Colorado. These figures depict Colorado’s EITC at its 2024 level of 38 percent […]
October 24, 2023 • By Jon Whiten
Even in this slow year for candidate elections, the decisions that voters in states and cities make could strengthen or weaken revenue for needs in their communities and could change how taxes are distributed across the income spectrum. In the places where tax fairness is on the ballot, much is at stake.
September 9, 2023
ITEP Senior State Policy Analyst Marco Guzman gave a presentation on property tax circuit breakers to the Colorado General Assembly’s Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy on September 7, 2023. Click here for the slide deck.
October 26, 2022 • By Jon Whiten
In a couple of weeks, voters in a handful of states will weigh in on several tax-related ballot measures that could make state tax codes more equitable and raise money for public services, or take states in the opposite direction, making tax systems less fair and draining state coffers of dollars needed to maintain critical […]
November 30, 2020 • By Marco Guzman
While the results of the 2020 presidential election are all but set in stone—and a sign of life for progressive policy—the results of state tax ballot initiatives are more of a mixed bag. However, the overall fight for tax equity and raising more revenue to invest in people and communities is trending in the right direction.
April 2, 2020
The federal response contains important provisions designed to help individuals and families, businesses, and state and local governments respond to this unprecedented event. This report aims to provide a summary of these provisions and how they will affect Colorado specifically. Read more
October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
COLORADO Read as PDF COLORADO STATE AND LOCAL TAXES Taxes as Share of Family Income Top 20% Income Group Lowest 20% Second 20% Middle 20% Fourth 20% Next 15% Next 4% Top 1% Income Range Less than $22,000 $22,000 to $40,800 $40,800 to $65,800 $65,800 to $113,600 $113,600 to $246,000 $246,000 to $605,500 over $605,500 […]
September 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called “Tax Cuts 2.0” or “Tax Reform 2.0,” which would make the temporary provisions permanent. And they falsely claim that making these provisions permanent will benefit […]
July 10, 2018 • By Aidan Davis
Despite some challenging tax policy debates, a number of which hinged on states’ responses to federal conformity, 2018 brought some positive developments for workers and their families. This post updates a mid-session trends piece on this very subject. Here’s what we have been following:
March 29, 2018
Pies and Charts is the annual mid-session briefing hosted by Colorado Fiscal Institute.
March 20, 2018
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.
January 31, 2018
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.
January 29, 2018
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.
December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]
December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Colorado residents.
November 14, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Colorado, 53 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 14 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…
October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Colorado equally. The richest one percent of Colorado residents would receive 59.3 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $637,800 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $86,480 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 4.7 percent.
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the Colorado population (0.4 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 37.5 percent of the tax cuts that go to Colorado residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 40.4 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 4.1 percent of the tax cuts.
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Colorado would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,845,700 in 2018. They would receive 52.5 percent of the tax cuts that go to Colorado’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $142,190 in 2018 alone.
December 21, 2016
“Even if the law is a zero-sum proposition, many lawmakers feel there’s an important principle at stake — a level playing field for business. Brick-and-mortar stores located in Colorado are required to collect sales tax. An exception for out-of-state online retailers gives them a competitive advantage. Their customers get a “discount” because a series of […]
November 14, 2016
“Carl Davis, research director at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said it’s true that state governments will have to find alternate ways of generating revenues for road projects as more cars go hybrid and electric. And he lauds Colorado, Oregon and California for testing the per-mile tax concept for the day […]
August 24, 2015
New York’s place on that list is especially salient given its place as the largest of the estimated 200 “sanctuary cities” across the country. The designation reflects a decision by local governments to protect undocumented immigrants from federal law enforcement. This makes it easier to collect taxes — undocumented immigrants paid $11.84 billion in state […]
August 13, 2015
Colorado has struggled with its TABOR, with declines in the percentage it has spent on education, including secondary and elementary schools, and on higher education. Colorado declined from 35th to 49th in the country in higher education funding as a share of personal income, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more […]
January 21, 2015
Who really pays a greater share of their income in taxes in Colorado? The rich or the poor? We answered this question by using the latest data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The New York Times featured ITEP’s latest data in a national story today as well. Read the full report