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.
Colorado
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blog November 30, 2020 After the Dust Has Settled: How Progressive Tax Policy Fared in the General Election
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ITEP Work in Action April 2, 2020 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Protection From a Pandemic: The Federal Response to COVID-19 in Colorado
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… -
October 17, 2018 Colorado: Who Pays? 6th Edition
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… -
September 26, 2018 Tax Cuts 2.0 – Colorado
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… -
blog July 10, 2018 Building on Momentum from Recent Years, 2018 Delivers Strengthened Tax Credits for Workers and Families
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:
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ITEP Work in Action March 29, 2018 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Pies & Charts: Mid-Session Briefing
Pies and Charts is the annual mid-session briefing hosted by Colorado Fiscal Institute.
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ITEP Work in Action March 20, 2018 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Forecast Five: March 2018 Revenue Estimates
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.
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ITEP Work in Action January 31, 2018 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Effect of Federal Tax Law on Revenue for Colorado and Colorado Taxpayers
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.
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ITEP Work in Action January 29, 2018 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Colorado State Tax Basics
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.
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December 16, 2017 How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Colorado Residents’ Federal Taxes
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-… -
December 6, 2017 How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Colorado Residents’ Federal Taxes
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.
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November 14, 2017 How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Colorado Residents’ Federal Taxes
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.
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November 6, 2017 How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Colorado Residents’ Federal Taxes
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 tax, become more generous over time. The result is that by 2027, the benefits of the House bill become increasingly generous for the richest one percent compared to other income groups.
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October 4, 2017 GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Colorado with 59.3 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
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.
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August 17, 2017 In Colorado 37.5 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
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.
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July 20, 2017 Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in Colorado with 52.5 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
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.
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media mention December 21, 2016 The Daily Sentinel: Fix online sales tax
“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… -
media mention November 14, 2016 Denver Post: CDOT to test taxing drivers by the mile instead of at the pump
“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… -
media mention August 24, 2015 Policy Mic: What Republicans Don’t Want You to Know About “Securing the Border”
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… -
media mention August 13, 2015 News and Observer: Problems with NC Legislation to Cap Taxes, Reduce Spending
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… -
ITEP Work in Action January 21, 2015 Colorado Fiscal Institute: The truth about taxes in Colorado
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… -
media mention November 24, 2014 Denver Post: Obama’s Action Appeases Immigrant Hopefuls in Colorado
With the work permits promised in Obama’s orders, those workers could add an estimated $43 million in tax revenues because their wages would increase and more of them would… -
report October 10, 2013 Paying for Education Finance Reform in Colorado
As this report shows, this change would somewhat reduce the steep regressivity of Colorado’s overall tax system. In other words, taxpayers across all income levels would pay a more equal share of their income if Amendment 66 is approved, in large part because most of the revenue raised by the amendment would come from the wealthiest 20 percent of Colorado residents.
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ITEP Work in Action October 3, 2013 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Amendment 66 will Improve Colorado’s Income Tax
Amendment 66 will restore Colorado’s ability to raise enough revenue to meet our schools’ growing needs and make the income tax more like those of our neighboring states, all without… -
media mention August 21, 2013 The Daily Camera: What’s at stake for Colorado in immigration reform?
As Congress takes a summer respite to figure out how to move immigration reform forward in the House, mounting evidence shows that reform would be a plus to the national economy. For instance, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated that the immigration reform bill which passed the Senate in June (S. 744) would reduce the federal deficit by roughly $1 trillion over 20 years and would boost the U.S. economy as a whole without negatively affecting U.S. workers in the long run. In addition, an April report from the conservative American Action Forum, authored by a former director of the CBO, went further, estimating that immigration reform has the potential to decrease the cumulative federal deficit by more than $2.5 trillion over the course of just 10 years.