With the 2021 Colorado regular legislative session concluded, lawmakers have approved tax and fee increases on Coloradans of up to $617 million annually without voter consent.
The new revenues are enough to give every schoolteacher in Colorado a $11,343.65 per year raise. The tax and fee increases amount to an average of $430 per year for a family of four.
New and Net Revenue
This session, 83 bills passed by the legislature would increase state revenue. Senate Legislative Council (SLC) included revenue projections for 45 of these in fiscal notes for each. Some fiscal notes provide an estimated range rather than a single figure. Total new revenue raised under these bills, if signed into law, would amount to between $579 million and $617.3 million in FY2022-23.
This report distinguishes between “new revenue” and “net revenue gain.” SLC topline revenue figures account for what this report calls “net revenue gains,” new revenue less new tax expenditures.
For example, House Bills 1311 and 1312, dubbed the “Tax Fairness for Coloradans” package, broadens Colorado’s tax base by removing certain tax deductions and other benefits for businesses and individuals, leading to $372.3 million in new state revenue. However, because HB1311 also expands the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, the bills only increase revenue by $184.5 million on net.
Total net revenue gains from all bills amount to between $410.9 and $423.7 million in FY2022-23. Several bills reauthorize or continue programs and revenue streams set to expire. These account for $3.7 million in FY2022-23.
Evading TABOR
Colorado lawmakers avoided the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and Proposition 117’s voter-approval requirements primarily by increasing revenue through tax policy changes and through government fees.
Tax policy changes account for between $368.5 and $372.3 million in new revenue and a $180.7 to $184.5 net revenue gain in FY2022-23. For the same year, fees account for between $210.4 and $245 million in new revenue and a $210.3 to $230.4 million net revenue gain.
What’s Not Included
This report does not include any bills which might increase revenue through various gifts, grants, donations, intergovernmental transfers, or federal funds. The report also excludes the 38 revenue-raising bills for which LCS provided no concrete revenue estimates. Most of these generate small amounts of revenue through fees which have not yet been set or through indeterminate increases in criminal or civil case filings.
Revenue Table
Table 1 lists every revenue bill for which SLC included revenue projections. The first column lists the bill number. The second two columns list high- and low-end estimates for new revenue and the next two columns list high- and low-end estimates for net revenue gains. The last column indicates whether the bill raises revenue via tax policy changes or government fees. Estimates shown are for the FY2022-23, as FY2021-22 numbers include only half of a tax year. As noted, HB21-1208 and SB21-249 use FY2023-24 estimates.
Table 1
| Bill Number | New Revenue | Net Revenue Gains | Revenue Source | ||
| Low | High | Low | High | ||
| HB21-1012 | $594,100 | $594,100 | $594,100 | $594,100 | Fees |
| HB21-1021 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 | Fees |
| HB21-1024 | $350,450 | $350,450 | $350,450 | $350,450 | Fees |
| HB21-1027 | $80,520 | $80,520 | $80,520 | $80,520 | Fees |
| HB21-1044* | $26,400 | $26,400 | $26,400 | $26,400 | Fees |
| HB21-1105 | $12,018,160 | $26,600,000 | $12,018,160 | $12,018,160 | Fees |
| HB21-1189 | $554,299 | $554,299 | $554,299 | $554,299 | Fees |
| HB21-1195 | $115,875 | $115,875 | $115,875 | $115,875 | Fees |
| HB21-1201 | $314,513 | $314,513 | $314,513 | $314,513 | Fees |
| HB21-1208† | $4,291,138 | $4,291,138 | $4,291,138 | $4,291,138 | Fees |
| HB21-1214 | $133,560 | $133,560 | $133,560 | $133,560 | Fees |
| HB21-1216 | $660,345 | $660,345 | $660,345 | $660,345 | Fees |
| HB21-1225 | $2,587,432 | $2,587,432 | $2,587,432 | $2,587,432 | Fees |
| HB21-1254 | $14,475,425 | $14,475,425 | $14,475,425 | $14,475,425 | Fees |
| HB21-1266 | $3,100,000 | $3,100,000 | $3,100,000 | $3,100,000 | Fees |
| HB21-1279 | $284,400 | $284,400 | $284,400 | $284,400 | Fees |
| HB21-1282 | $126,250 | $126,250 | $126,250 | $126,250 | Fees |
| HB21-1283 | $24,841 | $24,841 | $24,841 | $24,841 | Fees |
| HB21-1286 | $1,300,000 | $1,300,000 | $1,300,000 | $1,300,000 | Fees |
| HB21-1300 | $16,000 | $16,000 | $16,000 | $16,000 | Fees |
| HB21-1301 | $198,000 | $198,000 | $198,000 | $198,000 | Fees |
| HB21-1306 | $75,000 | $75,000 | $75,000 | $75,000 | Fees |
| HB21-1311 | $227,300,000 | $227,300,000 | $39,500,000 | $39,500,000 | Tax Policy Change |
| HB21-1312 | $141,200,000 | $141,200,000 | $141,200,000 | $141,200,000 | Tax Policy Change |
| HB21-1317 | $309,901 | $309,901 | $309,901 | $309,901 | Fees |
| HB21-1320 | $130,560 | $130,560 | $130,560 | $130,560 | Fees |
| SB21-003* | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | $160,000 | Fees |
| SB21-021* | $425,245 | $425,245 | $425,245 | $425,245 | Fees |
| SB21-039 | $11,502 | $11,502 | $11,502 | $11,502 | Premiums |
| SB21-057 | $112,500 | $112,500 | $112,500 | $112,500 | Fees |
| SB21-069 | $991,380 | $991,380 | $991,380 | $991,380 | Fees |
| SB21-076 | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | Fees |
| SB21-082* | $981,846 | $981,846 | $981,846 | $981,846 | Fees |
| SB21-092* | $139,000 | $139,000 | $139,000 | $139,000 | Fees |
| SB21-098 | $548,400 | $548,400 | $548,400 | $548,400 | Fees |
| SB21-101* | $55,000 | $55,000 | $55,000 | $55,000 | Fees |
| SB21-131 | $14,489 | $14,489 | $14,489 | $14,489 | Fees |
| SB21-147* | $33,000 | $33,000 | $33,000 | $33,000 | Fees |
| SB21-154 | $12,662,220 | $12,662,220 | $12,662,220 | $12,662,220 | Fees |
| SB21-218* | $12,900,000 | $12,900,000 | $12,900,000 | $12,900,000 | Premiums |
| SB21-249 § | $17,600,000 | $37,600,000 | $17,600,000 | $37,600,000 | Fees |
| SB21-250 | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 | Fees |
| SB21-260 | $113,200,000 | $113,200,000 | $113,200,000 | $113,200,000 | Fees |
| SB21-272* | $2,763,699 | $2,763,699 | $2,700,000 | $2,700,000 | Fees |
| Totals | $578,927,950 | $617,309,790 | $391,064,251 | $414,864,251 | |
Source: Senate Legislative Council
*Signed into law as of June 14, 2021
†Revenue estimate only available starting in FY 23-24
§ Full year revenue begins in FY 23-24
