Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government

Billionaire Phil Anschutz appeals dismissal of his lawsuit seeking $8 million Colorado tax refund

Colorado billionaire Phil Anschutz and his wife, Nancy, want a state appeals court to revive their lawsuit seeking a nearly $8 million tax refund. Phil Anschutz, who controls a vast business empire, has an estimated net worth of more than $10 billion. The Anschutzes argue that changes to federal tax law made through the CARES […]

Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, News, Politics and Government

Judge rejects billionaire Phil Anschutz’s tax lawsuit, reveals how much money he wanted

A Denver District Court judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by billionaire Phil Anschutz and his wife, Nancy, seeking a nearly $8 million tax refund from the Colorado Department of Revenue. The Anschutzes argued that changes to federal tax law made as part of Congress’ 2020 pandemic response bill, the CARES Act, changed Colorado’s tax […]

Posted inColoradans, COVID, Economy, Education, News, Politics and Government

More than 36,000 Colorado kids from low-income families could miss out on the Child Tax Credit, advocates fear

More than 36,000 Colorado children could lose out on a historic expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit because their families don’t file income taxes with the IRS.  The tax credit, which is temporarily expanded this year through funding from the federal coronavirus stimulus package, known as the American Rescue Plan, is being hailed as […]

Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, Economy, News, Politics and Government

Billionaire Phil Anschutz and his wife are suing Colorado for a tax refund. How much they want is a secret.

Colorado billionaire Phil Anschutz and his wife, Nancy, are suing the Colorado Department of Revenue for a tax refund in a case that could have big financial consequences for the state. The couple argue that due to changes to federal tax law made as part of Congress’ 2020 pandemic response bill, the CARES Act, Colorado’s […]

Posted inEnvironment, News, Politics and Government

Colorado Democrats renege on deal, kill reparations bill for people mired in conservation tax credit problems

Colorado Democrats killed a conservation easement tax credit reparations bill on a party-line vote in the House Appropriations Committee Monday evening, apparently reneging on what Republicans assumed was a pact to support Senate Bill 33 and a related easement measure in the House.  Senate Bill 33, which already passed the Senate, was approved 7-4 earlier […]

Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Politics and Government

Landowners who shaped Colorado’s conservation easement bill would receive hundreds of thousands of dollars if credits are restored

A controversial bill setting aside $149 million in reparations for state-rejected conservation tax credits is speeding ahead, despite renewed accusations that the proposal was steered by landowners who will benefit from repayments, including the family of a former state agriculture commissioner. The official working group that helped write Senate Bill 33 included three landowners who […]

Posted inEnvironment, News, Politics and Government

Colorado could hand out up to $149 million in disputed conservation easement tax credits

Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would return up to $149 million to holders of conservation easement tax credits previously disqualified by the state, a revival of a decades-old scandal that appraisers say would be rewarding fraud.  The measure, Senate Bill 33, would restore controversial easement tax credits issued from 2000 to 2013, some […]

Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, News, Outdoors

Colorado mountain, resort communities are rebounding — and then some — from coronavirus-scarred 2020

 John Norton, Gunnison County’s tourism czar, was talking to his board last April. The ski resort had closed abruptly. Lodging and restaurants were closed. Visitors were being told to leave. The pandemic was triggering a panic in tourist-based economies across the country.  A board member asked how much the Gunnison River Valley tourism community could […]