Politics
Colorado Voters Approve Amendment 87, Replacing Flat Income Tax With Graduated System
Colorado voters have narrowly approved Amendment 87, replacing the state's flat income tax with a graduated system that lowers rates for most earners while raising them on income above $500,000, projected to generate $2.7 billion for state operations.
Colorado voters have approved Amendment 87, replacing the state's long-standing flat income tax with a graduated system in which higher earners pay a larger share, a change projected to generate roughly $2.7 billion in additional revenue for state operations.
As of Friday morning, the measure held 51% of the vote, a lead of about 71,000 ballots. Supporters declared victory a day earlier as counting continued.
Under the amendment, individuals and businesses earning $500,000 or less will see their taxes cut, while anyone above that threshold will pay more.
The vote split sharply along geographic lines. Metro Denver and several Front Range counties â Boulder, Adams, Larimer, Jefferson and Arapahoe, along with Denver itself â favored the measure. Rural areas and El Paso, Douglas, Weld, Mesa and Pueblo counties rejected it.
Although the measure amends the state Constitution, it touches only a narrow provision of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Because of that limited scope, the state title board ruled it needed a simple majority â 50% plus one â rather than the 55% threshold normally required for constitutional amendments.
The campaign also cleared the signature hurdle narrowly, submitting just over 130,000 valid signatures against the 124,632 required to qualify for the ballot.
The change marks a significant shift in how Colorado funds public services. By asking the state's highest earners to contribute more, the graduated structure is intended to stabilize revenue for schools, infrastructure and other state operations while reducing the burden on middle- and lower-income households and small businesses. The narrow margin, however, signals that the debate over tax policy in Colorado is far from settled, and opponents are likely to watch closely how the new revenue is spent.