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2025-2026
The title as designated and fixed by the Board is as follows:
State taxes shall be increased $4.1 billion annually, in order to increase or improve levels of public services, including public school education, health care, child care, and workforce development services, by an amendment to the Colorado Constitution and a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes repealing existing law and creating new law to replace the uniform state income tax rate with a graduated state income tax rate, and, in connection therewith, eliminating the constitutional requirement in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights for all income to be taxed at one rate, establishing various income tax rates based on the amount of taxable income earned by individuals, estates, trusts, and corporations, and authorizing the state to retain and spend the increased revenue for specific purposes, which will result in the estimated change in income taxes owed by individuals as identified in the following table:
Initiative 181
Change in Income Taxes Owed by Income Category
| Income Categories* | Current Average Income Tax Owed |
Proposed Average Income Tax Owed |
Proposed Change in Average Income Tax Owed if Passed + or - |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 or less | $71 | $68 | -$3 |
| $25,001 - $50,000 | $783 | $748 | -$36 |
| $50,001 - $100,000 | $1,913 | $1,826 | -$87 |
| $100,001 - $200,000 | $4,114 | $3,940 | -$174 |
| $200,001 - $500,000 | $9,077 | $8,877 | -$200 |
| $500,001 - $1,000,000 | $19,591 | $19,579 | -$12 |
| $1,000,001 - $2,000,000 | $30,788 | $36,836 | +$6,048 |
| $2,000,001 - $5,000,000 | $44,200 | $62,932 | +$18,731 |
| * Adjusted Gross Income reported to the Internal Revenue Service. | |||
The ballot title and submission clause as designated and fixed by the Board is as follows:
Shall state taxes be increased $4.1 billion annually, in order to increase or improve levels of public services, including public school education, health care, child care, and workforce development services, by an amendment to the Colorado Constitution and a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes repealing existing law and creating new law to replace the uniform state income tax rate with a graduated state income tax rate, and, in connection therewith, eliminating the constitutional requirement in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights for all income to be taxed at one rate, establishing various income tax rates based on the amount of taxable income earned by individuals, estates, trusts, and corporations, and authorizing the state to retain and spend the increased revenue for specific purposes, which will result in the estimated change in income taxes owed by individuals as identified in the following table?
Initiative 181
Change in Income Taxes Owed by Income Category
| Income Categories* | Current Average Income Tax Owed |
Proposed Average Income Tax Owed |
Proposed Change in Average Income Tax Owed if Passed + or - |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 or less | $71 | $68 | -$3 |
| $25,001 - $50,000 | $783 | $748 | -$36 |
| $50,001 - $100,000 | $1,913 | $1,826 | -$87 |
| $100,001 - $200,000 | $4,114 | $3,940 | -$174 |
| $200,001 - $500,000 | $9,077 | $8,877 | -$200 |
| $500,001 - $1,000,000 | $19,591 | $19,579 | -$12 |
| $1,000,001 - $2,000,000 | $30,788 | $36,836 | +$6,048 |
| $2,000,001 - $5,000,000 | $44,200 | $62,932 | +$18,731 |
Hearing December 3, 2025
Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set (3-0).
The Board made a technical correction to the text of the initiative.
The Board finds that the proposed initiative only repeals, in whole or in part, a provision of the state constitution and therefore does not require a 55% majority for passage.
Board members: Theresa Conley, Christy Chase, Kurt Morrison
Hearing adjourned 10:42 AM
* Unofficially captioned "Graduated Income Tax" by legislative staff for tracking purposes. This caption is not part of the titles set by the Board.