Two income-tax initiatives — Amendment 87 and Proposition 136 — are dominating the business-community discussions around the 2026 Colorado ballot. And on the latest episode of “Colorado Chamber Office Hours,” I sit down with proponents of each of the measures to discuss what the competing proposals could mean for the business atmosphere in this state.
Chris deGruy Kennedy, president/CEO of the Bell Policy Center and a leader of the Protect Colorado’s Future coalition, argues that the graduated-income-tax system that Amendment 87 backers are pitching will boost funding for needed state services while hiking taxes only on the wealthiest Colorado businesses and residents. Kristi Burton Brown, executive vice president of the Advance Colorado Institute that wrote the 4.4% income-tax-rate cap proposed in Proposition 136, argues that increasing tax rates to as high as 8.4% on job creators will drive investment out of this state and hurt the very people that Amendment 87 is supposed to help, possibly leaving them unemployed.
The arguments also are summarized in an in-depth story that looks as well at numerous studies on whether moving from a flat-tax system like Colorado has to a progressive system that taxes higher earners at higher rates will lead to movement of wealth and jobs to lower-tax states.
To listen to this latest episode of “Colorado Chamber Office Hours,” you can find the podcast at all of your favorite channels:
