DENVER–In an election where Colorado voters went solidly blue in statewide candidate races, they also gave themselves an income tax rate cut, passing Proposition 121 by a decisive 65-35 margin.
The citizen-initiated measure, put on the ballot by the Independence Institute,* a free market think tank in Denver, lowers Colorado’s state income tax rate from a flat 4.5% to 4.4% starting in 2023.
In an election night email to supporters, Independence Institute president Jon Caldara–whose name appears on the measure as a proponent, along with State Senator Jerry Sonnenberg (R-Sterling)–pointed out the significance of an income tax cut passing in a Democrat-dominated state.
“If you don’t quite get the magnitude of this victory, please consider this. Colorado is one of the bluest of blue states,” said Caldara. “But because of our long-term way of planning and fighting we have taken what was once a top rate of 8% income tax and tonight brought it down to 4.4%, with a progressive governor who knew he needed to endorse it.”
Caldara is referring to Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, who endorsed the ballot measure while on the campaign trail. Polis was reelected Tuesday night, albeit by a smaller margin than Proposition 121 garnered.
This is not Caldara’s first tax-cutting rodeo. He and Sonnenberg previously teamed up to pass Proposition 116 in 2020, which lowered the state income tax from 4.63% to it’s current 4.5%.
* Independence Institute is the publisher of Complete Colorado.
