Snow is on the ground, Spring is in the air, and the Colorado legislative session is more than halfway through! And, our renewed state budget is once again stifled by an arbitrary revenue and spending limit set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. 

Colorado is returning $1.82 billion to taxpayers this year. Though this surplus is less than the unprecedented $4 billion the state government returned last year, it’s still one of the largest TABOR surplus we’ve ever had.

What should we do with this windfall? CFI thinks our surplus should go to critical General Fund priorities, like paying teachers, increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates, and lowering tuition at our public universities. But because of TABOR’s arbitrary revenue and spending limits, they can’t.

Instead, CFI, partners, and legislative champions have come up with ways we can spend down the surplus and still use our state revenue to help all Coloradans thrive. With a combination of new credits, and increasing existing credits, Colorado can significantly reduce child poverty and help families and workers cope with the rising cost of living. 

• HB24-1134 expands the Earned Income Tax Credit to 50% of the federal credit permanently, combines two Child and Dependent Care Credits to prevent a coverage gap, and updates our corporate income tax structure to bring us in line with other states.
• HB24-1311 creates a permanent new Family Affordability Credit that acts as a Child Tax Credit boost and is contingent upon TABOR surplus dollars. The Family Affordability Credit adds to the credit amount that families will receive from the CTC, it expands the incomes that can receive the credit to $85,000 for single filers and $95,000 for joint filers, and expands the age eligibility for kids so that families with kids between the ages of 6 and 16 can receive the credit. 
• HB24-1312 creates a temporary new Care Worker Credit that provides a tax credit to child care workers, home health-care workers, personal care aides, certified nursing assistants, or other qualifying personal care workers including a family member, friend, and neighbor who provides care.

If legislators do nothing, most of our TABOR surplus is returned to the wealthiest taxpayers in the state. We know that putting money into the hands of low income earners reduces poverty and boosts spending, workforce participation, and tax revenue that benefits everyone. With our limited options, using the surplus to invest in this population is the best way to spur our economy.

By Caroline Nutter, Legislative Coordinator