Online retailers selling in Colorado got a reprieve from the state’s messy sales-tax collection rules until at least May 31. This is the second time the state Revenue Department has extended the deadline, this time to allow the legislature to attempt to simplify and streamline the process for collecting and remitting online sales taxes. “As […]
taxes
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, Growth, News, Politics and Government
Gov. John Hickenlooper presents his last Colorado budget request
By James Anderson, The Associated Press Colorado’s John Hickenlooper on Friday presented his last budget request as governor to lawmakers — one he says helps prepare the state for an eventual recession. Hickenlooper spoke on Friday before the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. The bipartisan panel will use the proposal in fashioning a state budget for […]
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, Growth, News, Politics and Government
Across Colorado, taxpayers granted Gallagher tax relief to a record number of fire protection districts
A record number of Colorado special taxing districts — largely those in charge of fire protection — asked voters for tax relief on Tuesday. And overwhelmingly, voters approved requests to escape the constitutional stranglehold that has choked special district-budgets in recent years. More than 120 special districts — including several metropolitan, a few library and […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Voters snap purses shut for statewide tax measures, but are good with taxing tourists and sinners
Colorado voters resoundingly rejected big statewide tax spikes for education and transportation, but mountain voters again proved they rarely balk at taxes with a provable return — especially when new levies are aimed at tourists, cigarette smokers, pot smokers, developers and second-home owners. Revenue-hungry municipalities find those taxes an easy lure when they go to […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News, Politics and Government
Record number of special districts seeking voter relief from Gallagher stranglehold
Call volume to the Telluride Fire Protection District has climbed 30 percent since 2017, but the busy agency’s property-tax supported budget has dropped — to $119,000 next year from $250,000 last year. Chief John Bennett has delayed replacing 30-year-old fire engines. He’s cut and trimmed everywhere he can. Now, for the first time since 1996, […]
Posted in2018 Voter Guide, News, Politics and Government
Jared Polis vs. Walker Stapleton: Where Colorado’s governor candidates stand on the issues
The Colorado governor’s race is often cast as a competition of opposites, and it’s most evident when you break it down by the issues. Democrat Jared Polis and Republican Walker Stapleton are offering different visions for the state’s future, in particular on issues related to the environment, energy, health care and marijuana. Polis, a five-term […]
Posted inBusiness, Education, Energy, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
In governor’s race, Jared Polis proposes new carbon tax, endorses other tax hikes
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis said he supports a new tax on carbon pollution — one of a handful of tax hikes he endorsed in the latest debate. The five-term Boulder congressman has supported a carbon tax at the federal level, and he confirmed for the first time Wednesday that he would pursue the same […]