The 2026 Colorado legislative session opened with lawmakers facing a nearly $1.5B budget shortfall, driven largely by federal H.R.1 (the “Big Beautiful Bill”) and compounded by state revenue limitations due to TABOR as well as rising costs, especially Medicaid. In short, Colorado is facing a serious financial crunch, and lawmakers were forced to reduce or cut vital programs that help working families in order to balance the state’s budget.
But there may be hope! Our alliance is part of a coalition called Protect Colorado’s Future that is currently collecting petition signatures to place a Graduated Income Tax (GIT) initiative on the ballot this November.
Since 1987, Colorado has used a flat tax system. This means that all earners pay the same flat income tax rate (currently 4.41%), regardless of their income. Protect Colorado’s Future submitted language for a ballot measure that would raise the income tax rate on Coloradans making at least $500,000 a year. The proposal would, at the same time, lower the tax rate for the 2.6 million Coloradans who earn under the $500k annual threshold.
In the wake of Colorado’s current budget crisis, the time is now to revise our tax code and promote Care over Cuts! The Colorado Legislative Counsel estimates that this graduated income tax proposal, formally called Initiative 195, would generate between $2 billion and $2.7 billion per year in revenue for the state. According to the ballot language, these funds would be directed toward K-12 public education, health care, and early child care — programs that working families in Colorado depend on.
A poll conducted by the Bell Policy Center showed that 63% of the likely voters they polled agreed that wealthy Coloradans should pay their fair share. 76% of respondents supported creating a new tax bracket for those earning over $500,000 a year — including 85% of Democrats, 85% of unaffiliated voters, and 50% of Republicans. Coloradans across the political spectrum are ready for a fairer tax code that works for working families. You can learn more at bellpolicy.org.
Protect Colorado’s Future needs 125,000 voter signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot, and our Alliance is working hard to help achieve that goal! If you would like to volunteer to gather signatures or verify signatures, please reach out to us here. You can learn more about the coalition at protectcoloradosfuture.com.
And if you haven’t already done so, please sign your name! You can drop in and sign a petition at these locations, or get in touch with your county’s organizer. (That’s María Luiza Peréz Chavéz in Mesa County, Bianca Diaz in Montrose County, and Hanna Arauza in Garfield County.) We’ll make sure you get the chance to sign.
Let’s get this measure to the ballot in November and tell lawmakers what we want: Care over Cuts!
