Amendment 66 Controversy

More than 11,000 jobs can be lost to Amendment 66 if it passes.

That is according to a report done by economists at Colorado State University.

The amendment is an income tax increase from the 4.63 percent Colorado already has. People making $75,000 or less would have a tax rate of 5 percent and if a person makes more than that, it would be 5.9 percent.

Public schools benefit from the amendment, making $950 million in the first year.

Experts predict if Amendment 66 passes, retail and service jobs will be affected, and people in Colorado won’t have too much disposable income because of the tax hike.

That would hurt businesses like Rachelle Kahtava’s T-shirt shop.

“People aren’t going to have extra money every year to spend on gifts and traveling,” Kahtava said.

But for Donna Roberts, she sees the amendment helping her two kids prepare for the future, even though taxes will raise.

“We feel like it is a great opportunity for our children to give them a greater start for the future,” Roberts said.

CSU’s report went on to say approving Amendment 66 will be a gamble in the long term — Colorado will either gain 5,000 jobs from the amendment or lose 7,000.

A decision on Amendment 66 will be made on Nov. 5.