bell policy center
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Income tax overhaul in Colorado clears first hurdle, as revised estimate puts tax hike at $4 billion
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A state panel on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to a ballot measure that seeks to change Colorado’s flat rate of 4.41% to a graduated income tax, beginning in 2027, and raise billions dollars in new revenue. Now the proponents of the measure – which would appear on the 2026 ballot, assuming they gather sufficient signatures…
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Colorado title board to review graduated income tax proposal for 2026 election
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The Secretary of State’s title board on Wednesday will review another attempt at a graduated income tax ballot measure for the 2026 general election. In October, the title board had rejected two proposals submitted by the Bell Policy Center because they did not fit the state’s single-subject rule. A third was withdrawn. The two ballot…
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Colorado title board rejects graduated income tax ballot measures
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Colorado’s title board on Wednesday unanimously rejected two ballot measure proposals submitted by a policy think tank that would change the state’s flat income tax rate — in which everyone currently pays the same rate of 4.41% — to a graduated income tax, where people with incomes of up to $500,000 would get a small…
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Think tank’s economist publicly lambasts homeless study but privately has ‘no problems’ with method
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While the Colorado Fiscal Institute publicly lambasted a report on homelessness, the senior economist prominently cited in its criticism said he privately has no problems with the methodology in a text exchange with one of the study’s authors. “I dug deep into your research methodology and had no problems with it especially giving the range,” Colorado…
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Colorado interest groups offer up ballot guides
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There are plenty of smart people who want to help you understand the ballots on their way to Colorado voters this week. Special interest groups on the right and left, be they business interest groups or groups promoting reproductive rights, tell their supporters their positions on ballot questions. Here’s a round-up. > RELATED: Election Preview…
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Bell Policy Center looks at ballot issues’ cost from the left
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The Bell Policy Center in Denver has a new voter’s guide online that analyzes the dollars and sense of 13 statewide ballot questions Coloradans will vote on in November. The most interesting position from the venerable left-leaning economic think tank is no position at all on Proposition 112, which asks voters to require a 2,500-foot…
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Q&A with Scott Wasserman: ‘The best politics are centered around policy debates, not culture wars’
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The Bell Policy Center is by many accounts the brain trust of Colorado’s center-left. Meet the brain-truster in chief, Scott Wasserman. Going on two years now as the think tank’s president, Wasserman helms an operation that provides a knowledge base and idea incubator for many of the state’s leading Democratic policy makers. But Wasserman doesn’t…
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Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to lay out vision for consumer protections
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Recent deregulation at the U.S. Consumer Protection Agency at the federal level has sparked concerns about how Coloradans will be protected. On Thursday, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock plans to lay out at least some of his local solutions. The mayor will take part in a forum called A Predatory Economy: Denver’s Call to Action put…
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Bell Policy Center asks Colorado lawmakers to ‘stop digging’ for tax cuts, transportation
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Two left-leaning policy think tanks in Denver are calling out the Colorado legislature to put people over roads in transportation and tax-cut bills. “Colorado is one of the strongest state economies in the country, it’s in a ‘hole’ when it comes to funding the public supports that help many Colorado families and communities thrive,” states…
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Proposed ballot initiative would ask Colorado voters to cap payday lending rates at 36 percent
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(Editor’s note: The Center for Responsible Lending and the Bell Policy Center are part of the Financial Equity Coalition, which is pushing the ballot initiative. The original post is below.) ************ A ballot question in November would ask voters in November to cap rates charged by payday lenders at 36 percent. But to get on…
