Amendment 87 campaign claims victory, stating tiered income tax system will offer ‘relief’ to Coloradans facing high costs

The Amendment 87 campaign is claiming victory as support for the ballot measure — which would create a graduated income tax system in Colorado — squeaks ahead by around 50,000 votes. 

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, the measure had received about 51% of the vote, with more than 2.4 million votes counted, according to unofficial results from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

“I’m incredibly grateful to all the voters who took the time to really understand 87 and move Colorado to a more equitable tax structure,” said Tamara Pogue, a Summit County Commissioner and a member of the steering committee for the Amendment 87 campaign.

Amendment 87 was led by the Protect Colorado’s Future Coalition that includes progressive think tanks like the Bell Policy Center and Colorado Fiscal Institute, as well as groups like the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, Hunger Free Colorado, the Colorado PTA and other nonprofits and advocacy groups.

In a statement, the Protect Colorado’s Future campaign said it felt confident claiming victory because there were less than 400,000 votes that remained to be counted, a substantial portion of which are in Denver and Boulder counties, where voters so far have supported the measure 2-1.

Amendment 87 requires a simple majority to pass because it seeks to remove language from the Colorado Constitution requiring a flat tax. It does not add to the constitution, which would have required a 55% majority.

The graduated tax system proposed by Amendment 87 would lower taxes for the vast majority of Coloradans while raising taxes for the top percentage of earners. It would generate more than $2 billion for the state government to spend on healthcare, education and childcare, according to the official ballot information booklet.

Colorado has had a flat income tax rate since 1987 and is one of 15 states with a flat tax rate. The federal government, as well as 27 states and Washington, D.C., use some form of graduated income tax, while eight states have no income tax.

Under Amendment 87’s graduated tax system, those earning between $50,000 and $500,000 would see their tax bills decrease by around $210-$298 on their next tax return, according to the official ballot information booklet.

“For many in the High Country, this most immediately means a reduction in their income tax rates, which I think will come as a relief to many,” Pogue said. “Then, of course, there is all of the support for programs that folks care about and rely on in the High Country, like education, childcare and healthcare. So, there are immediate benefits and longer-term benefits.”

Amendment 87 saw fierce opposition, especially from Advance Colorado, a conservative think tank that sponsored nearly half of the ballot measures that were before voters during the midterm election.

Advance Colorado brought Proposition 136 — a ballot measure that would have capped the state’s existing flat tax rate of 4.4% — as a direct countermeasure to the graduated income tax proposal. If both passed, it would have created legal uncertainty.

But Prop 136 appears to have failed, with the unofficial results showing support only accounting for about 47.5% of the vote. The Associated Press has not called this either.

Opponents — including Advance Colorado and affiliated entities — outspent supporters of the ballot measure by nearly 4:1 in the run-up to the election. The millions of dollars flowing into the campaign opposing Amendment 87 garnered criticism from supporters of the graduated income tax measure, who described it as “dark money” because it came from organizations that don’t disclose their donors.

Advance Colorado did not return a request for comment Thursday on the unofficial results.