The Oct. 20 front page print article “‘Dark Money’ incoming” by Ryan Spencer discusses the groups supporting and opposing Amendment 87 as well as their funding and generally describes that the amendment “increases the tax rate for incomes above $500,000,” but leaves out one of the most important features of this amendment: It would raise state tax rates on income over $500,000 from the current 4.4% to graduated tax rates between 7.4% and 8.4%. As a result, Amendment 87 represents a $2.7 billion annual tax hike on Colorado residents and businesses, and yes, that’s billion with a “b” and that’s the annual tax hike, according to the text of the amendment.
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Opponents of Amendment 87 worry that these significant tax increases would make Colorado less competitive with businesses. In a press release last month, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce detailed that tax competitiveness in Colorado has been eroding in recent years, and the state has been losing companies to other states. It said, “As Colorado works to reverse these trends and attract new investment, significant changes to our tax structure would present a competitive disadvantage.”
Read more here.