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Tag: Taxes

Does Colorado get back more or less than it spends in federal taxes?
State, The Colorado Sun

Does Colorado get back more or less than it spends in federal taxes?

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun If you ever feel like you may be in a one-sided relationship with the federal government come tax season, there’s a chance you’re right. It’s not you, it’s them. The focus lately on federal spending cuts has highlighted the importance that massive amounts of federal money play in all 50 states. But there’s another perspective to this issue: For some states, the amount they receive back in federal funding is less than what they pay in taxes. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Woodland Park City Council advances effort to repeal sales tax for public schools
gazette.com, Local

Woodland Park City Council advances effort to repeal sales tax for public schools

By Eric Young | The Gazette A new agreement, a taxpayer vote and corrective reactions weren’t enough to quell the dispute between Woodland Park’s school district and the City Council. Council members advanced an ordinance to repeal the sales tax earmarked for Woodland Park’s public schools after they clashed once again with Woodland Park RE-2. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
Colorado Department of Revenue still not processing state tax returns
kdvr.com, State

Colorado Department of Revenue still not processing state tax returns

By Kim Posey | Fox 31 News Tax season started weeks ago, but the state of Colorado still has not started processing tax returns. On a federal level, the IRS began accepting individual tax returns on Jan. 27, but the Colorado Department of Revenue website for e-filing taxes is not up and running yet. The website said 2024 return links are coming soon and to check back in early February, but the month is more than halfway over and residents are wondering when they could receive their state refund if they are getting one. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Ballot measure 1A would allow Colorado’s Jefferson County to keep $30 million in tax revenue it knowingly overcollected
CBS Colorado, Local

Ballot measure 1A would allow Colorado’s Jefferson County to keep $30 million in tax revenue it knowingly overcollected

By Shaun Boyd, CBS Colorado For the third time in five years, Jefferson County is asking voters to permanently remove caps that limit how much tax revenue the Colorado county can keep and spend, including a new cap just put in place by the state legislature two months ago. "We would be the first in Colorado to have no cap, and they're trying to say it's not a tax increase," says Natalie Menten, who is leading the "No on 1A" effort. While Jeffco says 1A is a "revenue retention" measure to fund infrastructure and public safety, Menten says, not only would taxpayers forfeit all future refunds from the county, but $30.5 million in property tax revenue from 2023 that Jeffco deliberately overcollected. "They took our money. They're holding it, earning interest on it, k...
Aurora lawmakers postpone vote to repeal employee tax
coloradopolitics.com, Local

Aurora lawmakers postpone vote to repeal employee tax

By Kyla Pearce, Denver Gazette via Colorado Politics Aurora City Council on Monday postponed a decision on whether to keep a tax on businesses after a loud dust-up between councilmembers.  The occupational privilege tax collects $4 monthly from companies for each employee. Employers and employees split the dues, paying $2 respectively. The tax began in 1986 to support street maintenance, police and fire services. In a study session earlier in October, Councilmember Francoise Bergan proposed keeping the occupational privilege tax to fund fire stations in the Blackstone and Southshore areas. She made the proposal, she said, after hearing concerns from residents about the lack of fire stations in the areas, telling a story about a resident who may have died due to a long resp...
TABOR refund amounts announced for 2025, based on income
kdvr.com, Local, State

TABOR refund amounts announced for 2025, based on income

By Heather Willard | FOX31 Just days after announcing there would be TABOR refunds for Colorado residents in 2025, the state has announced how much money each Coloradan household can expect to receive. TABOR, or the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, is an amendment to the state constitution that limits how much revenue Colorado governments can retain and requires that Colorado residents vote to approve any tax increases. The overages are refunded to Colorado taxpayers. In an audit released on Oct. 14, the Colorado Office of the State Auditor said the state has $1.4 billion in excess revenue, which translates into TABOR refunds. This is a fair bit lower than what was collected during the 2023 tax year when the state reported it was returning some $3.28 billion to Colorado t...
Legislators have a business tax-break plan — and opposition to it
State, The Sum & Substance

Legislators have a business tax-break plan — and opposition to it

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance After considering several options to reduce the business-personal-property tax burden, Colorado legislators appear interested in backing a plan that would nix a rarely used tax break and create a new benefit focused on smaller companies. Late last month, the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy advanced five proposals to Legislative Council, which will meet next week to determine which of those and of other interim-committee suggestions will be introduced as bills in the 2025 session. And while committee members declined to advance either of two BPPT-specific proposals it earlier had discussed, they did agree to incorporate one of those proposals into an omnibus bill that would make myriad changes to state tax law. ...
Colorado districts hope voters support tax measures for new school buildings, scholarships, and more
Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Colorado districts hope voters support tax measures for new school buildings, scholarships, and more

By Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado More than 30 of Colorado’s 178 school districts are asking voters to approve a local tax measure in this November’s election. The number of requests on the ballot isn’t more than in some past years. But what has gone up is the amount of money districts are requesting — nearly $7 billion. There are two types of tax measures districts are putting to voters this year. Bond and capital measures would mostly go to pay for new school buildings, renovations, new air conditioning in some districts, and safety upgrades. Mill levy overrides would raise operating dollars that would mostly help increase staff pay and add more career education opportunities for students. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
Harris struggles to provide clear answers on economy, taxes, and unions in MSNBC interview
National, The Federalist

Harris struggles to provide clear answers on economy, taxes, and unions in MSNBC interview

By Brianna Lyman | The Federalist Ruhle did concede that Harris couldn’t “give a clear and direct answer.” For perhaps the first time, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle was the smartest person in the room during her Wednesday interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The interview went about as well as you could expect between a candidate who has dodged press questions and a “journalist” who justified Harris’ lack of availability to the American public because “she’s running against Trump.” Ruhle did concede that Harris couldn’t “give a clear and direct answer,” though couched that by saying it was “okay because we’re not talking about clear and direct issues.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE FEDERALIST
US judge tosses machine gun possession case, calls ban unconstitutional
denvergazette.com, National

US judge tosses machine gun possession case, calls ban unconstitutional

By Nate Raymond | Denver Gazette A federal judge has dismissed charges against a Kansas man for possessing a machine gun, saying prosecutors failed to establish that a federal ban on owning such weapons is constitutional. The decision by U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita on Wednesday appeared to mark the first time a court has held that banning machine guns is unconstitutional after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 issued a landmark ruling that expanded gun rights. In that ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court established a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." The Supreme Court clarified that standard ...