The effort to chisel away at the state income tax has gained steam in the Centennial State. Can voters and Governor Polis pull it off?

When an interviewer recently asked Colorado’s Democratic governor Jared Polis what the state’s income-tax rate should be, he answered without hesitation: “It should be zero.”

For many Coloradans, this came as no surprise: The effort to chisel away at the income tax has already gained steam in the state. Last year, voters reduced the tax with Proposition 116 — a ballot initiative that brought the rate from 4.63 percent to 4.55 percent. The Denver-based Independence Institute, where I work, led last year’s rate-reduction campaign, through its issue committee, and plans to advocate another tax cut next year. Yet, for reasons discussed in further detail below, those eying complete elimination of the income tax may have to take another approach.

The Value of Zero Income Tax

If Colorado were to adopt the governor’s recommendation, it would join eight other states with no income tax and become the third blue state boasting the status, alongside Washington and Nevada.

Eliminating the tax would provide an enormous direct windfall to Colorado households. In 2017, the average Colorado family paid $2,850 to the state in income tax. But the indirect benefits of economic growth and opportunity for residents should not be understated…read more.

Statistics Canada’s employment numbers released today show Canadians working outside government have struggled while the bureaucracy continues to grow.

“There’s been a tale of two pandemics in Canada: one full of private sector pain, the other full of politicians and bureaucrat financial gain,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director with the CTF. “It’s not fair to make struggling taxpayers pay for more bureaucrats and bigger bureaucrat salaries during the pandemic.”

Statistics Canada’s job report shows the burden of the pandemic downturn has been felt disproportionately by workers outside of government.

There’s been 257,400 government jobs added during the pandemic, including an extra 107,700 “public administration” employees added since February 2020.

There are 256,500 fewer jobs outside of government (private sector plus self-employed) than pre-pandemic…read more.

With some key federal COVID-19 support programs set to expire in less than two weeks, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is urging the federal government to extend and adjust its aid.

The CFIB represents almost 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Canada, many of whom, it said, continue to rely on federal support programs.

“Businesses need certainty as so many are still dodging constant curveballs with a slow pick-up in revenues, labour shortages, and wariness around ongoing restrictions in the months ahead,” said Corrine Pohlmann, senior vice-president of national affairs at CFIB, in a release Tuesday.

“No business owner expects government support forever, but they need to know they have something to rely on until all restrictions are lifted, and they can fully operate their business once again. They can’t afford for the government to dawdle until the last minute.”…read more.