President Donald Trump’s $400 billion federal tax cut for pass-through businesses has emerged as a top target of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis as he looks to eliminate corporate tax breaks to pay for a statewide income tax cut. The Democratic governor’s goal: A permanent cut to the state income tax rate that would lower the […]
Brian Eason
Special to The Colorado Sun
Twitter: @brianeason
Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government
Jared Polis cheers a GOP tax cut plan, and his political allies shudder
Hours after Democratic Gov. Jared Polis cheered a Republican effort to cut income taxes by 3 percent, a liberal policy group issued a sharp rebuttal. In a blog post published Thursday night, the Colorado Fiscal Institute characterized the plan as unwelcome “relief” for corporations and the wealthy that would ultimately exacerbate income inequality, while reducing […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Jared Polis has 208 options to lower your taxes. But it’ll be harder than you may think.
In his first days in office, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has elevated a vague campaign pledge — slashing unspecified corporate tax breaks to cut income taxes as much as $450 million — to a major priority for his new administration. But it’s not clear how he’ll be able to find the money, or the political […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Environmentalists are demanding aggressive action on climate change. How far will Colorado Democrats go?
After a November election dominated by Trump, transportation and health care, climate change is emerging as the top legislative priority on the political left, where environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers are hoping to turn Colorado’s blue wave into a green one. The only question is how far the new Democratic majority will go with new […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Politics and Government
New economic projections show smaller property tax cut. Colorado has oil and gas to thank (or blame).
A statewide property tax cut in 2019 isn’t expected to be nearly as deep as initially feared, economists told Colorado budget writers Thursday — a pronouncement that drew some relieved laughter from state lawmakers who were awaiting the latest estimates with dread. For a year now, the expectation had been that the state’s Gallagher Amendment […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Ranked-choice voting could come to Colorado cities in 2019. Is the statewide ballot next?
An effort to bring ranked-choice voting to Pueblo has quietly started lining up support for a more ambitious target — the statewide 2020 ballot — that could have sweeping implications for Colorado politics. Ranked-choice voting — also known as an “instant runoff” election — has garnered national attention in recent years, most notably because of […]
Posted inBusiness, Education, News, Politics and Government
Hickenlooper’s Hail Mary on the Gallagher Amendment falls short. So what now?
Monday’s terse announcement from the Colorado Supreme Court dashed whatever lingering hopes local governments had for a constitutional Christmas miracle. Without so much as a word of explanation, the court declined to hear outgoing Gov. John Hickenlooper’s last ditch request for relief from the property tax-slashing Gallagher Amendment. It was a long shot at best. […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s messy sales tax system could get more complicated as the state tries to tap into online revenue
As state regulators scramble to expand online sales taxes in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Colorado’s largest cities could suddenly find themselves missing out on a new funding spigot worth millions of dollars each year. But if they try to get their piece of a growing tax pie — Denver alone […]
Posted inBusiness, Education, Energy, Environment, Growth, Health, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
The new Democratic majority in Colorado needs money for their ambitious agenda. Here’s where they could find it.
The paramount challenge Democrats face as they take full control of Colorado state government next year: the gap between the ambitious agenda they promised voters and the limited money they have to spend. In interviews with The Colorado Sun, top Democratic lawmakers say they’re already brainstorming ideas big and small to close that gap — including […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
The millionaires who want to be governor of Colorado: Here’s what we know about their finances. And what we don’t.
In a few days, Colorado voters will elect a wealthy businessman for governor who has been dogged for months by questions about financial transparency and potential conflicts of interests that could influence how he governs. It’s just a matter of which one. Call it the Donald Trump effect. Two years after voters elevated the wealthy […]