Colorado Sales Tax Rate Reduction Initiative (2022)
| Colorado Sales Tax Rate Reduction Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Sales Tax Rate Reduction Initiative was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statute on November 8, 2022.
Measure design
The initiative would have reduced the state sales and use tax rate from 2.90% to 2.89% beginning in 2023. Proponents filed multiple versions of the initiative.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
Initiative 46:
| “ |
Shall there be a reduction to the state sales and use tax rate by 0.34 percent, thereby reducing state revenue, which will reduce funding for state expenditures that include but are not limited to health and human services programs, K-12 education, and corrections and judicial operations by an estimated 14.6 million dollars in tax revenue in the first full fiscal year, or will reduce the amount of the taxpayer refund if a refund is required under TABOR, by a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes that reduces the state sales and use tax rate from 2.90 percent to 2.89 percent from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024?[2] |
” |
Initiative 47:
| “ |
Shall there be a reduction to the state sales and use tax rate by 0.34 percent, thereby reducing state revenue, which will reduce funding for state expenditures that include but are not limited to health and human services programs, K-12 education, and corrections and judicial operations by an estimated 14.6 million dollars in tax revenue in the first full fiscal year, by a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes that reduces the state sales and use tax rate from 2.90 percent to 2.89 percent from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024? [2] |
” |
Full text
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. State law provides that petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. State statutes require a completed signature petition to be filed three months and three weeks before the election at which the measure would appear on the ballot. The Constitution, however, states that the petition must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. The secretary of state generally lists a date that is three months before the election as the filing deadline.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 124,632 valid signatures
- Deadline: August 8, 2022
The secretary of state is responsible for signature verification. Verification is conducted through a review of petitions regarding correct form and then a 5 percent random sampling verification. If the sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required valid signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required signatures, the initiative is certified. If less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.
Details about this initiative
- Suzanne Taheri and Michael Fields filed two versions of the initiative (#46 and #47) on September 23, 2021. Ballot language was set for the measures on October 6, 2021.[1]
- Proponents appealed the ballot title to the Colorado Supreme Court, alleging that the title incorrectly says the measure would "reduce funding for state expenditures that include but are not limited to health and human services programs, K-12 education, and corrections and judicial operations," and that, rather, the measure would only reduce TABOR refunds. Proponents argued that the law violates the state constitutional requirement that ballot titles be The title was written by the Colorado Title Board to meet the requirements of House Bill 1321, signed into law on July 7, 2021, which requires the ballot titles for ballot measures that are designed to reduce state tax revenue to identify the three largest program or public service funding reductions expected under the proposed measure. Julie Pelegrin, a board member representing the Office of Legislative Legal Services, said that the Title Board "is attempting to meet both the requirements of the statute and the requirements of the constitution."[3]
- The initiatives expired prior to approval to circulate.[1]
See also
External links
- Colorado Secretary of State: Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results
- Initiatives filed with the Legislative Council Staff
- Initiative 46 full text
- Initiative 47 full text
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Colorado Secretary of State, "Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results," accessed July 26, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "Proponents of tax-cutting initiative ask Supreme Court to carve exception to new law," accessed December 1, 2021
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