Colorado Lawmakers Should Not Tax Business Inputs

The Colorado General Assembly is currently considering a slew of tax increases. The proposals, mostly targeting specific products, are a result of low revenue collections over the last couple of years combined with the political unpopularity of broad based tax increases. But there are problems with many of the proposals. Several of the bills would extend the retail sales tax to business-to-business transactions, which is universally acknowledged by tax experts as an economically damaging policy. Lawmakers are also trying to pass an "Amazon tax."

Read more about the proposals in Fiscal Fact No. 208, "Handful of Proposals Would Push Colorado Away From the Proper Tax Base".

Taxes should be used to raise revenue for essential government services, not punish certain taxpayer and reward others. If the services that Colorado is providing to its citizens are not worth paying for with broad-based taxes, then maybe they should reconsider their spending priorities.