As Americans for Prosperity launches a $20 million campaign to renew expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) , Rocky Mountain Values and the Colorado Fiscal Institute are releasing a new report, Continuing 45 Years of Inequitable Tax Policy: Colorado Impacts.
The report lays bare how the TCJA massively benefited the wealthy and gave corporations huge tax breaks with no promise to cut costs for everyday Americans. The report also warns of even greater risks if future conservative tax plans, like Project 2025, are implemented, including paying for the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the rich and corporations with cuts to programs for Colorado families, like children’s healthcare, food assistance, and tax credits.
The AFP campaign tries to sell the American people on more tax breaks that would add $5 trillion to the national debt while prioritizing corporations and the wealthy. These efforts come at the expense of middle-class families, rural communities, and critical safety net programs in Colorado and across the country.
"Colorado families have paid the price for inequitable tax policies that reward wealth over work,” said Caroline Nutter, CFI legislative coordinator. “And now, proposals like Project 2025 threaten to worsen these inequities, raising taxes on middle-class families and slashing the programs our communities depend on. It’s time to fight back for a fair tax system that works for all Coloradans.”
TCJA’s Devastating Impacts on Colorado Families:
Favoring the Wealthy Over Working Families: The TCJA gave the wealthiest 5% of Coloradans more than half of the total tax cut benefits, while the bottom 40% received just 5%. Millionaires saw nearly $3,000 in annual tax cuts, compared to only $255 for households earning $34,000.
Corporate Tax Loopholes: By slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, the TCJA allowed the nation’s largest corporations to pay nearly $250 billion less in taxes since 2018. This corporate windfall came at the expense of federal investments in programs that support children, veterans, and working families in Colorado.
Cuts to Social Safety Nets: To offset the $1.5 trillion cost of the TCJA, deep cuts were made to Medicaid, SNAP, and other critical programs. Rural Colorado, where Medicaid funds nearly half of healthcare services, was hit especially hard.
The Growing Threat of Conservative Tax Plans -- Looking ahead, plans like Project 2025, introduced by the Heritage Foundation and embraced by House Republicans, loom large as the Trump Tax Law is set to expire this year. These plans would expand and deepen inequities:
Tax Hikes for Middle-Class Families: Project 2025 proposes just two tax brackets—15% and 30%—which would lower rates for the wealthiest but increase taxes for middle-income Coloradans. A single filer earning $46,000 (Colorado’s median income) would pay $1,000 more in taxes, while married couples earning $130,000 would face nearly $3,000 in additional taxes.
Rewarding Wealth, Not Work: Proposals to cut the capital gains tax rate from 20% to 15% would disproportionately benefit millionaires, who account for 66% of all capital gains in Colorado. Meanwhile, taxpayers earning under $100,000 would see little to no benefit.
Deeper Corporate Tax Cuts: Reducing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 18% would cost an additional $300 billion, further depleting resources for critical programs that Coloradans rely on.
Cuts to Safety Nets Would Devastate Colorado Communities -- To fund these unsustainable tax cuts, Donald Trump and conservative leaders propose:
Medicaid and CHP+: Medicaid provides healthcare to 1.4 million Coloradans, including 730,000 children. CHP+ supplements Medicaid, offering affordable care to 70,000 kids and pregnant women. Cuts to these programs would disproportionately harm rural communities, where nearly 50% of healthcare is funded through public programs.
SNAP: More than 600,000 Coloradans rely on SNAP for food assistance, including 13% of rural families. Proposed cuts would hit rural counties like Alamosa, Bent, and Costilla the hardest, where SNAP participation exceeds 21%.
TANF, EITC, and CTC: Programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) support over 600,000 Colorado families, injecting $2.6 billion into local economies. Scaling back these credits would undermine working families’ ability to pay for childcare and basic needs.
A Call for Action
Rocky Mountain Values and the Colorado Fiscal Institute are calling on federal policymakers to reject harmful tax agendas that prioritize massive corporate tax cuts, tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals, and proposals to fund these giveaways by slashing vital programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and the Child Tax Credit.
These policies, including Project 2025, threaten to raise taxes on middle-class families while gutting investments in healthcare, food assistance, and economic support that millions of Coloradans depend on. Instead, they urge leaders to pursue fair tax policies that:
Close corporate tax loopholes and ensure large corporations pay their fair share.
Protect programs that serve children, rural communities, and older adults.
Prioritize relief for middle- and lower-income families rather than the wealthiest.
“We cannot afford to let plans like Project 2025 dismantle the progress we’ve made for working families in Colorado,” said Justin Lamorte, Executive Director of RMV. “It’s time for bold, equitable tax policies that ensure corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share—while protecting the programs our communities depend on.”
The full report, Continuing 45 Years of Inequitable Tax Policy: Colorado Impacts, is available here.To learn more about the Colorado Fiscal Institute, Rocky Mountain Values, and their work to promote fair taxation, visit coloradofiscal.org or rockymountainvalues.org.