DENVER — State sales tax data reviewed by the Common Sense Institute of Colorado shows sales tax revenue increased by $1.6 billion between 2023 and 2024.
When adjusted for population and inflation, however, that number decreased to a $3 billion shortfall.
The new numbers show Denver is far from the only city in the state facing a budget shortfall, which has forced city leadership to consider substantial layoffs.
According to the analysis, all front range counties saw a decline in sales tax revenue by these amounts:
- Adams: -2.8%
- Arapahoe: -2.5%
- Boulder: -2.3%
- Broomfield: -7.5%
- Douglas: -2.4%
- Jefferson: -1.2%
- Larimer: -0.8%
- Weld: -3.4%
What’s more, sales tax revenue as a percentage of total tax revenue is lower than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Common Sense Institute, that number declined from 37.1% in 2017 to 35.4% in 2022.
State data shows that the percentage has increased since 2022, but it still sits $720 million below its 2017 level.
Kelly Caufield with the Common Sense Institute said a major reason for these decreases is inflation’s impact on consumers’ spending habits.
“When we look at the data, the pretty obvious answer to me is that inflation is a part of the story. We really saw that spike, especially coming out of COVID,” Caufield said. “There has been a huge increase in the price of goods and services. So, I do think many people are staying back. Think they're decreasing the amount of goods and services that they are consuming.”
At 7.5%, Broomfield County saw the third-largest decrease of Colorado’s 64 counties, and the largest along the Front Range.
The Scripps News Group reached out to Broomfield Mayor Guyleen Castriotta to see how the decline in sales tax revenue has impacted the city and county’s projects and programs and how leadership intends to make it up.
The city’s communication’s manager, Julie Story, responded via email saying, “Like most communities in the state, we've seen a decrease. We haven't seen the Common Sense Institute report, so we aren't commenting on that. We'll know more as we continue to refine actuals and budgeted amounts.”
