Colorado's tiered income tax initiative still too close to call – Denver Gazette

Colorado’s tiered income tax initiative still too close to call  Denver Gazette

Colorado's graduated income tax measure, known as Amendment 87, is still ahead, but its margin has tightened as more results rolled in, 50.58% to 49.42%, with more than 2.1 million ballots tallied, as of 4 a.m Nov. 4 A day after polls closed on Tuesday night, Colorado voters remained split on the proposal to raise $2.7 billion more for state operations by eliminating the state’s flat rate in favor of a tiered income tax system, under which higher-income earners face a bigger tax liability. The graduated income tax measure, known as Amendment 87, is still ahead, but its margin has tightened as more results rolled in, 50.66% to 49.34%, with more than 2.3 million ballots tallied About 31,000 votes separated the “yes” and “no” votes, a margin that has shrunk since the early tally.

Meanwhile, Proposition 136, a competing measure that seeks to cap individual income taxes for workers and businesses alike at 4.4%, is trailing with 47% of the “yes” vote, according to the unofficial tally. The vote there, too, has considerably tightened over the last 24 hours. Backed by the Bell Policy Center and Protect Colorado’s Future, Amendment 87 seeks to replace Colorado’s flat income tax with a graduated system that increases rates as income rises. Under the tax measure, individuals and businesses earning less than $500,000 would