The fight over a proposal to raise income taxes on higher earners in Colorado is being waged in the courts and on the campaign trail, accompanied by heavy spending and false claims. The vote will take place Nov. 3.
Amendment 87 would replace Colorado’s current flat income tax with a progressive system. It provides for six brackets, from a rate of 3.7% on income up to $25,000 to 8.4% on income above $1 million. Taxes would rise for individuals and businesses earning more than $500,000 a year and would be lowered for everyone else.
The change is expected to raise about $2 billion a year, earmarked for health care, education and child care. It is the most ambitious of the four statewide tax proposals on the ballot. Conservative groups are promoting a competing measure, Proposition 136, which would cap the tax rate at 4.4%. The filing for Proposition 136 was submitted by the organization Advance Colorado, which is considered a “dark money” group because it does not disclose its donors.
The dispute has also landed in court. In September, a Republican activist sued the secretary of state’s office. He argued that the initiative should not be on the ballot because dozens of paid signature gatherers had failed to meet registration requirements.
Judge Heidi Kutcher of Denver District Court ruled that state law does not allow an initiative to be removed from the ballot because of problems with the registration of signature gatherers. The plaintiff’s attorney announced an expedited appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. Secretary of State Jena Griswold said voters should continue to use the ballots they have received.
Disputed claims have also surfaced in the debate. According to the Colorado Fiscal Institute, Amendment 87 changes tax rates but does not eliminate current deductions for Social Security benefits, pensions and military pensions. Gov. Jared Polis said that an impact on the Social Security tax break is still possible, depending on how the courts interpret the provisions. The amendment requires a simple majority of votes, not 55%, as most changes to the state constitution do.
Source: Denver Post
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