Revenue collected in excess of the constitutional revenue limit, or TABOR limit, must be refunded to taxpayers unless voters authorize retention of the excess amount. This memorandum presents information on this constitutional requirement and its administration at the state level.
Senate Bill 18-001, enacted during the 2018 legislative session, is a significant piece of transportation funding legislation. SB 18-001 commits state General Fund revenue for transportation projects and establishes financial mechanisms to address the passage or failure of transportation-related ballot measures. This issue brief summarizes the most important features of this law.
In Colorado, sales taxes are imposed by the state government, counties, municipalities, and special districts. Overlapping boundaries create 754 unique tax jurisdictions, many with different tax bases, rates, and administrators. This issue brief summarizes information on how local government sales and use taxes are assessed and administered.
Colorado receives annual payments from tobacco manufacturers as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. In April 2013, the state received $90.8 million, most of which will be used to fund healthcare programs across the state.
This memorandum provides information on five types of programs that provide property tax and/or rental cost relief to seniors. These include: property tax exemptions; property tax credits, and income tax credits that reimburse housing costs; "circuit breaker" programs that provide targeted housing cost relief to low-income seniors; property tax freezes; and property tax deferrals.
This issue brief provides information on mechanisms used to refund revenue in excess of the state's constitutional spending limit. The legislature determines how the excess revenue is refunded. Over the course of TABOR's history, there have been 21 different refund mechanisms.
Senate Bill 17-267, enacted during the 2017 legislative session, changes many aspects of fiscal policy for the state. This issue brief summarizes the bill's principal components.
This memorandum provides information on intergovernmental transfers of revenue from the state government to Colorado's 64 counties. Data from 2010 show that of $5.0 billion in total county revenue, about $1.3 billion or 25.8 percent came from intergovernmental transfers. State revenue transfers come from various taxes and nontax revenue sources. This memorandum identifies these sources and provides information on state transfers for 2010, the most recent year for which data are available from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
This issue brief provides information on state enterprises, a special category of government entities created in the Colorado Constitution. An enterprise is a self-supporting, or largely self-supporting, government-owned business that receives its revenue in return for the provision of a good or service.
