Amendment 87: Graduated Income Tax

Colorado · initiated constitutional amendment and statute · on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The ballot wording and the arguments for and against from the state’s official voter guide, in the state’s own words, each read the same way for rhetorical techniques. We don’t recommend a vote.

On the ballot

no rhetorical technique found

SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED $2.7 BILLION ANNUALLY, IN ORDER TO INCREASE OR IMPROVE LEVELS OF PUBLIC SERVICES, INCLUDING K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, AND EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION SERVICES, BY AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION AND A CHANGE TO THE COLORADO REVISED STATUTES REPEALING EXISTING LAW AND CREATING NEW LAW TO REPLACE THE UNIFORM STATE INCOME TAX RATE WITH A GRADUATED INCOME TAX STRUCTURE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, AMENDING THE TAXPAYER’S BILL OF RIGHTS TO ELIMINATE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR ALL TAXABLE NET INCOME TO BE TAXED AT ONE RATE WITH NO ADDED TAX ON INCOME; ESTABLISHING VARIOUS INCOME TAX RATES BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF TAXABLE INCOME EARNED BY INDIVIDUALS, ESTATES, TRUSTS, AND CORPORATIONS, WHILE MAINTAINING THE CURRENT 4.4% TAX ON INCOME FROM THE SALE OF A PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, WHICH WILL RESULT IN THE ESTIMATED CHANGE IN INCOME TAXES OWED BY INDIVIDUALS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE FOLLOWING TABLE; AND AUTHORIZING THE STATE TO RETAIN AND SPEND ANY INCREASED REVENUE FROM THE NEW TAX STRUCTURE, AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, TO SUPPLEMENT CURRENT LEVELS OF FUNDING FOR K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, AND EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS?

On the ballot, this question is followed by the table it refers to, “Change in Income Taxes Owed by Income Category”, which is not reproduced here. It is on the official page linked below.

From coloradosos.gov. Checked 2026-10-20. Confirm with your official ballot (sample-ballot lookup).

Argument for

By Colorado Legislative Council Staff (State Ballot Information Booklet)

no rhetorical technique found

1) Amendment 87 cuts taxes for 97 percent of taxpayers, including most households and small businesses, while increasing taxes only for top earners who have the ability to pay.

A graduated income tax is more equitable than a flat tax because it recognizes a fundamental economic reality: each dollar taxed on someone earning $30,000 imposes a far greater hardship than each dollar taxed on someone earning $1 million.

By aligning tax rates with taxpayers’ financial means, a graduated tax distributes the burden more justly across all income levels, lowers taxes for most households and small businesses, and puts more money in the hands of working families who will spend it in their local communities.

2) The measure funds critical services at a time when additional funding is desperately needed. Crucial programs are at risk of further cuts because of changes in federal policy. Revenue from the graduated tax will fund education, health care, and child care, public services that many Colorado households rely on.

Colorado public schools are significantly underfunded, and constraints on the state budget make Medicaid cuts increasingly likely. Additional funding will provide more security for the people who depend on these services.

3) The graduated income tax is not an experiment, but a proven approach for funding essential public services. The federal government and 27 other states already have a graduated income tax. This tax structure lessens rising wealth inequality and increases funding for state programs.

Sales and property taxes place greater burdens on lower-income households, and a graduated income tax corrects for this inequity while also funding services for all Coloradans.

From content.leg.colorado.gov, the official voter guide.

Argument against

By Colorado Legislative Council Staff (State Ballot Information Booklet)

no rhetorical technique found

1) The measure is a multibillion-dollar tax increase, and hiking taxes on higher incomes will harm Colorado’s economy. Higher tax rates make Colorado a less competitive place to start and grow a business, and may encourage some high earners to leave the state entirely. When businesses and high-earning individuals relocate, people at all income levels may lose their jobs.

Further, because the brackets do not increase with inflation, more and more taxpayers will pay these higher taxes each year. Colorado cannot risk employers and jobs fleeing the state because our taxes are too high. Keeping taxes competitive for everyone fuels economic activity and builds a stronger, more prosperous Colorado for all.

2) The measure is an attack on the fair and predictable tax system that TABOR currently guarantees. The state’s current flat tax is fair because everyone has equal access to state services, high-income earners already pay more taxes, and low-income earners qualify for more tax deductions and credits.

The state should better prioritize the tens of billions of dollars it already collects, rather than switch to a new, complicated tax system.

3) The measure will permanently expand the size of government, increase careless and wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars, and hinder economic growth. Instead of spending billions of dollars more on broadly defined government services, state policy should focus on lowering taxes for everyone or funding specific programs that are proven to help Colorado’s residents.

From content.leg.colorado.gov, the official voter guide.

Who’s behind it

Party positions: Colorado Democratic Party: Yes · Colorado Republican Party: No position published · Libertarian Party of Colorado: No · Colorado Forward Party: No position

Committees registered to support or oppose Amendment 87, and what they reported to Colorado Secretary of State TRACER (tracer.sos.colorado.gov). Checked 2026-10-20.

Before comparing the sides: each committee’s figures come from its own latest report, so they can cover different dates. Some committees work on more than one measure or other campaigns, and their totals include all of it. A side with no registered committee can still have supporters. How much a side raised says nothing about whether the measure is a good idea.

Supporting

PROTECT COLORADO’S FUTURE COALITION

Ballot measure committee

Raised $2,096,175 · spent $1,895,837 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

CHAMBERS, MERLE · $500,000 · individual
own contributions since Jan 1, 2020, federal (FEC): $4,614,737 to Democratic and $0 to Republican candidates and party committees, $24,106 to others; Colorado state (TRACER): $101,150 to Democratic and $0 to Republican candidates and party committees; $1,900 to candidates for nonpartisan offices
NEW ERA COLORADO ACTION FUND · $276,241
501(c)(4) nonprofit
COLORADO WINS · $262,890
Labor union
STAND FOR CHILDREN, INC. · $250,000
501(c)(4) nonprofit · Colorado state contributions since Jan 1, 2025: $450 to Democratic and $0 to Republican candidates and party committees (TRACER)
SAVE THE CHILDREN ACTION NETWORK · $162,869
501(c)(4) nonprofit

This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.

GREAT EDUCATION COLORADO ACTION ISSUE COMMITTEE

Ballot measure committee, sponsored by Great Education Colorado Action (from the registered committee name)

Raised $49,519 · spent $47,636 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

GREAT EDUCATION COLORADO ACTION FUND · $45,000
501(c)(4) nonprofit
OLSON, MARTHA · $1,136 · individual
GREAT EDUCATION COLORADO · $1,082
501(c)(3) nonprofit
HARLOW, LANE · $750 · individual
PEARSON, JESSICA · $516 · individual

PEOPLE FOR A FAIR COLORADO

Ballot measure committee

Registered; no financial report filed yet.

MAKE GOOD CHANGE

Ballot measure committee

“The People's Ballot is an unofficial voter guide to the 14 statewide ballot measures on Colorado's Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot.” — its website

Registered; no financial report filed yet.

Opposing

KEEP COLORADO AFFORDABLE

Ballot measure committee

Raised $607,500 · spent $20 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

GOPAC ELECTION FUND · $605,000
Political action committee · federal PAC contributions, 2025–26: $0 to Democratic and $71,500 to Republican candidates and party committees (FEC)
JCC 2020 TRUST · $2,500
Other

This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.

BRIGHTER COLORADO

Ballot measure committee

Raised $3,270,775 · spent $2,760,499 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

COMMON SENSE AMERICA · $2,000,000
Other
GOPAC ELECTION FUND · $1,000,000
Political action committee · federal PAC contributions, 2025–26: $0 to Democratic and $71,500 to Republican candidates and party committees (FEC)
COLORADO DAWN · $100,000
501(c)(4) nonprofit
RADO CAPITAL · $25,000
Company
STAVA, MATT · $25,000 · individual
own contributions since Jan 1, 2020, federal (FEC): $0 to Democratic and $13,731 to Republican candidates and party committees; Colorado state (TRACER): $450 to Democratic and $0 to Republican candidates and party committees; $1,000 to candidates for nonpartisan offices

This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY COLORADO ISSUE COMMITTEE

Ballot measure committee, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity Colorado (from the registered committee name)

“We are the premier grassroots advocacy organization transforming policy around the country.” — its website

Raised $350,223 · spent $350,223 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY · $350,223
501(c)(4) nonprofit

AFFORDABLE COLORADO

Ballot measure committee

Raised $0 · spent $0 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE · $11,417
501(c)(3) nonprofit

This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.

LET'S GO COLORADO

Ballot measure committee

Raised $500,000 · spent $484,744 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

DENVER METRO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE · $500,000
501(c)(6)

This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.

DON'T PRICE US OUT

Ballot measure committee

Raised $2,146,500 · spent $1,994,999 · as reported through Oct 14, 2026

Largest contributors as filed:

AMERICAN PROSPERITY COALITION · $1,710,000
Other
READY COLORADO · $300,000
501(c)(4) nonprofit
COLORADO DAWN · $66,000
501(c)(4) nonprofit
O'DEA, JOSEPH · $25,000 · individual
own contributions since Jan 1, 2020, federal (FEC): $0 to Democratic and $37,300 to Republican candidates and party committees; Colorado state (TRACER): $0 to Democratic and $25,418 to Republican candidates and party committees; $1,500 to candidates for nonpartisan offices
KELLER, JEFFREY · $25,000 · individual
own contributions since Jan 1, 2020, federal (FEC): $0 to Democratic and $101,941 to Republican candidates and party committees; Colorado state (TRACER): $0 to Democratic and $15,000 to Republican candidates and party committees

A rhetorical technique is about wording, not about whether a measure is a good idea or an argument is true. Ballot wording is written under each state’s own rules, and official arguments by the people the state names. All Colorado measures →