As the 2021 Legislative Session is underway, lawmakers are expected to file a series of bills in the coming weeks that will remove critical business tax credits and exemptions, effectively increasing the tax burden on employers in the middle of an economic crisis.
For those of you that remember HB 1420 from last summer, this might sound familiar. Because of your efforts, we were able to prevent a massive tax increase on businesses and remove the problematic provisions in the bill. But this year, lawmakers are trying again and we need your help to stop it.
Will you tell your state lawmakers to reject any proposal that will increase taxes on the business community as they’re trying to recover from this crisis?
The Colorado economy is struggling – hundreds of thousands of Coloradans are out of work and many businesses will not survive the impact of COVID-19. Aside from the financial strain of the pandemic, businesses across Colorado are already facing billions in new costs over the next several years. A recent study found that newly passed laws and regulations will amount to $1.8 billion in new costs per year for the business community over the next 3-5 years.
To add insult to injury, Colorado businesses are also already facing major increases in unemployment insurance taxes in the coming years. By 2023, an employer’s total premium could increase from .07% of wages to as much as 13.1% due to a scheduled rate increase, surcharge increase, and increase in the taxable wage base. None of the state’s COVID-19 stimulus packages have addressed this looming cost on the business community.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are actually facing a budget surplus. They have hundreds of millions more to spend this year than anticipated, which further begs the question of why this proposal is being pushed in the middle of one of the worst economies our state has ever seen.
Now is not the time to increase taxes on businesses. Tell lawmakers to OPPOSE any bill that will increase the tax burden or create new costs for businesses in these tough economic times.