Amendment 73 would increase funding for public preschool through high school (P-12) programs through a graduated rate increase on higher income earners and by increasing the corporate income tax rate from 4.63% to 6%. Amendment 23 would also make changes to the Gallagher Amendment, lowering and freezing the school district property tax assessment rate at 7% for residential property and 24% for other taxable property except it would keep levies unchanged for mines and land producing oil and gas.
In 1982 voters approved the Gallagher Amendment, aka Amendment No. 1 – Property Tax Assessment. It has had the effect of reducing the residential real estate assessment rate from 21% in 1985 to about 8% in 2016. Most of the local share of public school funding comes from property taxes. TABOR, authored by Douglas Bruce, passed in 1992 – the third time it was on the ballot. TABOR further restricts tax rates, but allows communities to vote to “de-Bruce” in order to bypass some TABOR restrictions.
The Public School Finance Act of 1994 attempted to equalize funding among school districts across the state. In 2000 voters approved Amendment 23 requiring annual increases in school funding. An argument in favor of Amendment 23 was to better align Colorado’s school funding with most other states. After the recession hit in 2008, the state created a “negative factor” (now renamed the “budget stabilization factor”) to reduce the state’s share of funding for P-12 public education.
In recent years the General Assembly has allowed individual districts, with voter approval, to further increase local taxes, putting the equalization principle in jeopardy. Prop 103 in 2011 to temporarily increase income tax rates in order to fund P-12 education did not pass. Some school boards, including BVSD, did not support Prop 103, arguing that residents would give more money to the state than they would receive for their schools. This time around, Amendment 73 ensures that state funding for every school district will stay the same or increase – a “no harm” provision – and may be why almost all school districts support this measure.
Amendment 73 amends Article X, Section 3 of the constitution, better known as the Gallagher Amendment, and income tax rates in Article X, Section 20 of the constitution, better known as the TABOR Amendment. Amendment 73 amends the Colorado Revised Statutes primarily in 22-55-109, creating a Quality Public Education Fund, directing the legislature to create a new public school finance law, and providing for review of school funding within 5 and 10 years of implementation of Amendment 73.
The current Colorado flat income rate is 4.63%. The new income tax rates are set forth in an amended 39-22-104 CRS as follows:
4.63% (current rate) for incomes up to 150K
5% for incomes over 150K up to 200K
6% for incomes over 200K up to 300K
7% for incomes over 300K up to 500K
8.25% for incomes over 500K
Over 90% of taxpayers will not see an increase in their income tax rate.
Recommendation: yes/for
A well-educated populace is critical to Colorado’s successful future, but education costs money. It’s time to say farewell to accounting tricks such as the negative factor that hurt school districts and students.
Amendment 73 is a progressive tax, unlike Prop 103 in 2011. Amendment 73’s tax rates are more complicated than Prop 103’s and will create more work for government tax workers, but the taxable income levels are written into statute so lawmakers can change them as inflation pushes more taxpayers into the higher brackets.
This amendment will help school districts across the state. Because the residential property tax would be frozen rather than continue to fall, BVSD taxpayers are expected to pay more in property tax in the future compared to forecasted rates if Amendment 73 does not pass. Currently, Colorado has some of the lowest residential property tax rates in the nation.
Website for the Yes Side – Great Schools, Thriving Communities
http://www.greatschoolsthrivingcommunities.org/
Website for the No Side – Blank Check. Blatant Deception.
https://www.noamendment73.com/
Approved Ballot Language
Amendment 73 (CONSTITUTIONAL)
Shall state taxes be increased $1,600,000,000 annually by an amendment to the Colorado constitution and a change to the Colorado revised statutes concerning funding relating to preschool through high school public education, and, in connection therewith, creating an exception to the single rate state income tax for revenue that is dedicated to the funding of public schools; increasing income tax rates incrementally for individuals, trusts, and estates using four tax brackets starting at .37% for income above $150,000 and increasing to 3.62% for income above $500,000; increasing the corporate income tax rate by 1.37%; for purposes of school district property taxes, reducing the current residential assessment rate of 7.2% to 7.0% and the current nonresidential assessment rate of 29% to 24%; requiring the revenue from the income tax increases to be deposited in a dedicated public education fund and allowing the revenue collected to be retained and spent as voter-approved revenue changes; requiring the legislature to annually appropriate money from the fund to school districts to support early childhood through high school public educational programs on an equitable basis throughout the state without decreasing general fund appropriations; directing the legislature to enact, regularly review, and revise when necessary, a new public school finance law that meets specified criteria; until the legislature has enacted a new public school finance law, requiring the money in the fund to be annually appropriated for specified education programs and purposes; requiring the money in the fund to be used to support only public schools; requiring general fund appropriations for public education to increase by inflation, up to 5%, annually; and requiring the department of education to commission a study of the use of the money in the fund within five years?
YES/FOR _______
NO/AGAINST _________
Amendment 73 initiative language filed with the Secretary of State
http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/filings/2017-2018/93Final.pdf
In 1982 voters approved the Gallagher Amendment, aka Amendment No. 1 – Property Tax Assessment. It has had the effect of reducing the residential real estate assessment rate from 21% in 1985 to about 8% in 2016. Most of the local share of public school funding comes from property taxes. TABOR, authored by Douglas Bruce, passed in 1992 – the third time it was on the ballot. TABOR further restricts tax rates, but allows communities to vote to “de-Bruce” in order to bypass some TABOR restrictions.
The Public School Finance Act of 1994 attempted to equalize funding among school districts across the state. In 2000 voters approved Amendment 23 requiring annual increases in school funding. An argument in favor of Amendment 23 was to better align Colorado’s school funding with most other states. After the recession hit in 2008, the state created a “negative factor” (now renamed the “budget stabilization factor”) to reduce the state’s share of funding for P-12 public education.
In recent years the General Assembly has allowed individual districts, with voter approval, to further increase local taxes, putting the equalization principle in jeopardy. Prop 103 in 2011 to temporarily increase income tax rates in order to fund P-12 education did not pass. Some school boards, including BVSD, did not support Prop 103, arguing that residents would give more money to the state than they would receive for their schools. This time around, Amendment 73 ensures that state funding for every school district will stay the same or increase – a “no harm” provision – and may be why almost all school districts support this measure.
Amendment 73 amends Article X, Section 3 of the constitution, better known as the Gallagher Amendment, and income tax rates in Article X, Section 20 of the constitution, better known as the TABOR Amendment. Amendment 73 amends the Colorado Revised Statutes primarily in 22-55-109, creating a Quality Public Education Fund, directing the legislature to create a new public school finance law, and providing for review of school funding within 5 and 10 years of implementation of Amendment 73.
The current Colorado flat income rate is 4.63%. The new income tax rates are set forth in an amended 39-22-104 CRS as follows:
4.63% (current rate) for incomes up to 150K
5% for incomes over 150K up to 200K
6% for incomes over 200K up to 300K
7% for incomes over 300K up to 500K
8.25% for incomes over 500K
Over 90% of taxpayers will not see an increase in their income tax rate.
Recommendation: yes/for
A well-educated populace is critical to Colorado’s successful future, but education costs money. It’s time to say farewell to accounting tricks such as the negative factor that hurt school districts and students.
Amendment 73 is a progressive tax, unlike Prop 103 in 2011. Amendment 73’s tax rates are more complicated than Prop 103’s and will create more work for government tax workers, but the taxable income levels are written into statute so lawmakers can change them as inflation pushes more taxpayers into the higher brackets.
This amendment will help school districts across the state. Because the residential property tax would be frozen rather than continue to fall, BVSD taxpayers are expected to pay more in property tax in the future compared to forecasted rates if Amendment 73 does not pass. Currently, Colorado has some of the lowest residential property tax rates in the nation.
Website for the Yes Side – Great Schools, Thriving Communities
http://www.greatschoolsthrivingcommunities.org/
Website for the No Side – Blank Check. Blatant Deception.
https://www.noamendment73.com/
Approved Ballot Language
Amendment 73 (CONSTITUTIONAL)
Shall state taxes be increased $1,600,000,000 annually by an amendment to the Colorado constitution and a change to the Colorado revised statutes concerning funding relating to preschool through high school public education, and, in connection therewith, creating an exception to the single rate state income tax for revenue that is dedicated to the funding of public schools; increasing income tax rates incrementally for individuals, trusts, and estates using four tax brackets starting at .37% for income above $150,000 and increasing to 3.62% for income above $500,000; increasing the corporate income tax rate by 1.37%; for purposes of school district property taxes, reducing the current residential assessment rate of 7.2% to 7.0% and the current nonresidential assessment rate of 29% to 24%; requiring the revenue from the income tax increases to be deposited in a dedicated public education fund and allowing the revenue collected to be retained and spent as voter-approved revenue changes; requiring the legislature to annually appropriate money from the fund to school districts to support early childhood through high school public educational programs on an equitable basis throughout the state without decreasing general fund appropriations; directing the legislature to enact, regularly review, and revise when necessary, a new public school finance law that meets specified criteria; until the legislature has enacted a new public school finance law, requiring the money in the fund to be annually appropriated for specified education programs and purposes; requiring the money in the fund to be used to support only public schools; requiring general fund appropriations for public education to increase by inflation, up to 5%, annually; and requiring the department of education to commission a study of the use of the money in the fund within five years?
YES/FOR _______
NO/AGAINST _________
Amendment 73 initiative language filed with the Secretary of State
http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/filings/2017-2018/93Final.pdf
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