According to every recent poll, the most important issue to Colorado voters this year is the increased cost of living. With inflation at almost 8%, families are paying $843 more per month just to keep up.

At the same time Coloradans are paying more for necessities, the state government has more money than ever. This year’s budget is $38 billion – up $2 billion from last year. With government flush with money, it’s an ideal time to cut the income tax.

Proposition 121 would reduce the state income tax from 4.55% to 4.4% for everyone. In total, it would save taxpayers $400 million per year. That’s real money that will be going back into working Coloradan’s checking and savings accounts.

Projections by the Common Sense Institute, a nonpartisan policy think tank, show that Prop 121 would also add jobs to Colorado’s economy. The dynamic impact of tax savings in 2023 would be an estimated additional 9,110 jobs.

Gradually cutting our state income tax also helps ensure that we are competitive with other states. Nine states don’t have any income tax at all. When we are thinking about how we can attract and keep people and businesses, we should always be assessing the effectiveness of our tax structure.

In 2020, we cut the state income tax from 4.63% to 4.55%. At the time, critics suggested that government services would suffer if voters approved that cut. Instead, the opposite happened. Government revenue increased so much that every taxpayer got $750 in TABOR refunds this year. The state projects that we will see close to $11 billion in TABOR refunds over the next three years. If that’s the case, no government services will be impacted at all if Prop 121 passes this year.

But regardless, slowing the growth of government is a good thing. Trust in government is low for a reason. A few years ago, legislators promised that if they passed the “Hospital Provider Fee” bill, they would fix rural roads in our state. That hasn’t happened. They also promised that if more money went to education, teachers would get paid more. But still, only 56% of education dollars get into classrooms.

And last year, legislators raised fees on gas, deliveries, and rideshares – all without voter approval. They also raised property taxes by $291 million. As politicians continue to raise fees, voters can respond by approving Prop 121.

But what’s best about Prop 121 is that it’s a voter-led proposition that was placed on the ballot because enough Colorado voters felt it was important that this measure be brought to a vote of the people. Since being placed on the ballot, it earned the support of both gubernatorial candidates, Gov. Polis and Heidi Ganahl. Just like the income tax cut from 2020, Prop 121 has broad support from across the state.

As costs continue to skyrocket for everyone, Prop 121 is simply a great first step in giving some money back to the people who deserve it most – the hard-working people of this state. Vote YES on Prop 121; it’s what’s best for Colorado’s future.

Michael Fields is the president of Advance Colorado Institute.