Amendment 87 is being sold as: “97% of Coloradans get a tax cut.” Technically? That’s largely true at the start. But that’s also the bumper-sticker version of a much bigger rewrite of Colorado’s tax system. So let’s talk about the part that doesn’t fit in the campaign text message. Colorado currently has a 4.4% flat income tax. Amendment 87 replaces that with six marginal brackets: • 3.7% up to $25K • 4.2% to $100K • 4.4% to $500K • 7.4% to $750K • 7.9% to $1M • 8.4% above $1M Important: those are marginal rates. Someone making $550K does NOT pay 7.4% on all $550K. According to the state’s analysis, you don’t start paying more overall until around $510,834 in Colorado taxable income. The maximum tax cut? About $325 a year. Roughly $27 a month. Meanwhile, the state expects the new system to generate about $1.97 BILLION in additional revenue in the first full year. So where’s the catch? Here’s where things get interesting. The brackets are NOT indexed to inflation. That means the dollar thresholds stay put while incomes generally rise over time. So someone nowhere near the higher brackets today could eventually creep into them simply because wages rise over the next 10, 15 or 20 years. No new ballot measure. No dramatic tax-hike vote. The thresholds just sit there while your paycheck keeps moving. That is probably the single biggest thing voters need to understand. There’s also a marriage penalty built into the structure because the brackets don’t double for married couples filing jointly. It also doesn’t just hit “millionaire salaries.” Business owners with pass-through income can get caught in the higher brackets. Sell a business? Sell investment property? Have a huge one-time capital gain? Congratulations, the tax code may decide you’re rich for the year. And this isn’t only an individual income-tax change. The corporate rate can also climb as high as 8.4%. Then there’s the spending side. The new money goes toward K-12 education, health care, and early childhood programs. But there isn’t some neat little formula saying: “40% here, 30% there, 30% over there.” The Legislature decides which qualifying programs actually get the money. And yes, there are reporting and audit requirements. One more thing: Amendment 87 permanently removes Colorado’s constitutional requirement for a flat income-tax rate. That does NOT mean lawmakers suddenly get unlimited authority to raise taxes whenever they feel like it. TABOR still matters. But this is a much larger structural change than: “Should rich people pay more?” That’s the part I think is getting buried. This isn’t secretly an immediate tax hike on everybody. That claim is garbage. But it also isn’t just: “Here’s your $325 tax cut. Have a nice day.” Voters are being asked to approve a completely different tax structure — one with fixed brackets, long-term bracket creep, business implications, marriage penalties, and a top rate nearly double what Colorado has now. You can still support it. You can still oppose it. Just know what the hell you’re actually voting on. Because “97% get a tax cut” is a sales pitch. The tax code is the fine print. #ColoradoPolitics #Amendment87