Amendment 66 Economic Analysis: 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 overburdening Coloradans. From the adoption of the income tax in 1937 through 1986, Colorado used a “tiered” income tax, where tax rates rose along with a taxpayer’s income. Shifting to a single-rate income tax in 1986 seriously harmed the state’s ability to fund education. Amendment 66 will reinstate Colorado’s tiered personal income tax, making Colorado more like other states, the vast majority of which employ a tiered income tax.
Amendment 66 will not exhaust the resources of Coloradans, even as it brings in an additional $950 million in revenue dedicated to public education. Colorado will remain well below the national average in state and local tax collection. Furthermore, investing $950 million in education is expected to strengthen and grow the economy, not slow it.1
Amendment 66 also will better balance the tax contributions of upper-income and lower-income Coloradans. Currently, lower-income residents pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than upper-income residents. A tax system in which those with the least ability to pay are contributing more of their income to support schools, health care and other public services than wealthier Coloradans is neither fair nor efficient. Amendment 66 will move us toward a more balanced tax system based on ability to pay and make our taxes more productive, by taxing one of the fastest-growing portions of the economy – high-income earners.
