Latest CSI Report: The Steep Price Tag of the 2021 Legislative Session: The Challenge of Economic Recovery Continues to Grow under New Regulatory Burdens and More than $2.1 Billion in New Taxes and Fees

The CSI has released its latest report about the new taxes and fees for individuals and businesses as a result of the 2021 legislative session.

Despite tax revenue to the state’s General Fund rebounding to more than $2 billion above pre-pandemic levels and a surge of more than $65 billion in federal funds to Colorado, the 2021 legislative session, which ended June 8th, resulted in an additional net tax burden of $302 million (in FY23) on individuals and businesses. 

Key Findings:

  • The total net direct cost of rules and legislation passed since 2018, inclusive of the net cost of the 2021 session, is now over $2.1 billion.
  • New fee-based revenue from the 2021 session is projected to be over $255 million annually. This figure is relevant to two ballot measures passed in 2020.

The state income tax rate would need to increase by 1.23 percentage points to raise the same amount of revenue that pending fees from the last four years are projected to raise.

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To better support Northern Colorado Prospers (NCP) strategic initiatives, NCP is a member of the Common Sense Institute (CSI), a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy.

With this membership, we have first access to the CSI research, articles, insights and discussions surrounding the business community, with topics including fiscal impacts of policies, initiatives, and proposed laws”