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Focus Colorado presents forecasts for the economy and state government revenue through FY 2020-21. Implications of the forecast for the state's General Fund budget and spending limit are described in the report's highlights and executive summary sections. The report is based on current law, legislation passed by the General Assembly affecting the forecast is described throughout the report.

Understanding the State Budget: The Big Picture

Each year, the General Assembly is tasked with balancing constitutional, statutory, and federal requirements with a host of other considerations, such as competing policy priorities, caseload pressures, and the health of the state’s economy, in order to create a budget.  This report is intended to serve as a primer on Colorado’s budget and some of the factors that help shape it.

Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force.  

Summary Report for the Alternatives to the Gallagher Amendment Interim Study Committee to the Legislative Council.  The committee was created pursuant to Interim Committee Request Letter 2018-02. The committee is charged with studying the following:

This memorandum provides information on five types of programs that provide property tax and/or rental cost relief to seniors.

Focus Colorado presents forecasts for the economy and state government revenue through FY 2020-21. Implications of the forecast for the state's General Fund budget and spending limit are described in the report's highlights and executive summary sections. The report is based on current law, legislation passed by the General Assembly affecting the forecast is described throughout the report.

Report No. 2018-TE

Report No. 2018-TE1

Report No. 2018-TE2

Report No. 2018-TE3

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in May 2023. Click HERE to access the May 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE4

Report No. 2018-TE5

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in May 2023. Click HERE to access the May 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE6

Report No. 2018-TE7

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in May 2023. Click HERE to access the May 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE8

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in January 2023. Click HERE to access the January 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE9

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in May 2023. Click HERE to access the May 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE10

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in May 2023. Click HERE to access the May 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE11

Report No. 2018-TE12

Note: A more recent evaluation was issued in August 2023. Click HERE to access the August 2023 report.

Report No. 2018-TE13

The General Assembly considered bills that modified the responsibilities of the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR), clarified taxing requirements, and made changes to the tax remittance process. 

Focus Colorado presents forecasts for the economy and state government revenue through FY 2019-20. Implications of the forecast for the state's General Fund budget and spending limit are described in the report's highlights and executive summary sections. The report is based on current law, legislation passed by the General Assembly affecting the forecast is described throughout the report.

The passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is expected to increase Colorado’s state income tax revenue beginning in FY 2017-18 through at least FY 2026-27.  Revenue impact estimates are currently unchanged from those published in the December 2017 Legislative Council Staff forecast.  However, these estimates are subject to downside risk, where unexpected shifts in taxpayer behavior could result in significantly smaller revenue increases than those estimated.

The Colorado General Assembly considered a number of bills during the 2017 legislative session regarding the administration of taxes, and state taxes and tax programs.

Economic Outlook for the U.S. and Colorado

The ongoing expansion in the U.S. economy is fueld by consumer contributions.