These days there is no shortage of political spin, campaign rhetoric and breaking news. In fact, the election season combined with the pandemic and economic chaos has transformed 2020 into an unprecedented year of turmoil and challenge. This is especially true for small businesses.

From restaurants to day care centers to neighborhood retail shops and by every measure, Colorado small businesses have suffered the brunt of COVID-19. The question we are all asking now is how do we recover? I strongly believe the revival and prosperity of Colorado is dependent on the recovery of our small business.

As an elected official, one of my top priorities is supporting small businesses and paving the way for their survival and growth. That starts with making it easier to do business in Colorado. Take for example HB 20-1022, one of the most important and least covered bills to come out of the legislature last session. The bill renewed the Legislative Sales & Use Tax Simplification Task Force.

I’m proud to serve as co-chair of the task force. Our mission is simple: to streamline the sales and use tax code. Passage of this bill may not have made for an eye-catching headline, but it definitely makes a difference for Colorado small businesses. Consider that just a few years ago, the Council on State Taxation rated Colorado as the fourth worst state in the country due to our complicated patchwork of more than 700 local sales tax jurisdictions.

With the help of Simplify Colorado Sales Tax, a coalition of businesses, trade organizations and taxpayers, I’m pleased to report that we are making great progress in the fight to bring fairness, simplicity and predictability to Colorado’s complex system.

In just the last three years, the Task Force has made huge strides toward a streamlined sales and use tax system. One of our biggest achievements is the creation of a database that helps business owners untangle the more than 700 sales tax jurisdictions. The data base will ultimately remove a significant amount of red tape and paperwork for business owners and free up time to do what they do best – grow our economy.

HB 20-1022 allows the Legislative Sales & Use Tax Simplification Task Force, originally established in 2017, to continue its important work and to advance legislation in order to simplify Colorado’s sales and use tax system. The success of the task force will promote a competitive economic environment in Colorado, attract new employers and create jobs. That’s good news for our state and a hopeful sign of brighter days.

This is the season when we’re all fatigued from non-stop political ads and a never-ending stream of breaking news. It’s also a time when we can take a step back and reflect on what’s important. Let’s roll up our sleeves and work together to solve our biggest challenges. Coloradans deserve it and our small businesses need it.

Kevin Van Winkle, a Highlands Ranch Republican, represents District 43 in the Colorado House. He is assistant minority leader.