HOUSE ADVANCES TAX FAIRNESS PACKAGE

DENVER, CO– The House this morning passed legislation by a vote of 37-24 to increase the business personal property tax exemption to $50,000, exempting two-thirds of the businesses that currently pay the tax. Later today, the House will debate legislation to provide economic assistance to hundreds of thousands of hardworking families and Coloradans.

The two bills boost the state Earned Income Tax Credit, fund the state Child Tax Credit, and raise the exemption for business personal property taxes by limiting loopholes for the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations.

“Passing the tax fairness for Coloradans package will provide direct relief to hardworking families and small businesses by closing loopholes that benefit a few of the wealthiest individuals and corporations,” said Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora. “Colorado’s millionaires have only grown their wealth during the pandemic while low and middle-income families are falling further behind and struggling to make ends meet. We can create a fairer tax code and deliver meaningful relief to the people and businesses that need it by ending tax subsidies for those who have already reached the top.”

“We have a clear choice in front of us–we can provide significant relief to hardworking families, individuals and small businesses, or we can continue to give tax handouts to the wealthiest people and largest corporations,” said Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver. “Republicans are fighting to protect tax breaks for millionaires and corporations with offshore bank accounts. Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting for economic assistance for hundreds of thousands of hardworking Coloradans and small businesses.”

HB21-1312, which passed the House on Third Reading today and which is endorsed by the Colorado Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, would eliminate business personal property taxes (BPPT) for over two-thirds of the businesses that remit BPPT. Currently, businesses with under $7,900 in business personal property do not have to pay BPPT. The bill increases this exemption to $50,000. In addition to providing an important tax cut to tens of thousands of small businesses, raising the exemption means businesses will no longer have to complete and submit burdensome paperwork needed to claim the BPPT exemption. In order to provide this relief, the bill modifies ineffective tax subsidies for the largest businesses, such as strengthening the criteria insurance companies must meet in order receive a 50 percent discount on their insurance premium tax rate.

HB21-1311, which will be debated today during Second Reading, would boost the incomes of over 300,000 hardworking Coloradans by increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 20 percent of the federal credit and by funding the state’s Child Tax Credit, which was created in 2013, but has never been funded. In order to provide this relief, the bill closes loopholes primarily used for tax avoidance or which only benefit three-tenths of a percent of taxpayers.

Many of the tax expenditures that these bills seek to close or limit have been identified by the State Auditor as ineffective and only benefit a small number of businesses and Colorado’s wealthiest residents. The bills seek to narrow expenditures that benefit only a few individuals and large businesses in order to provide broad tax relief to large numbers of hardworking Coloradans and small businesses.

For fact sheets or to learn more about the bills visit taxjustice.co