Question 304 on the Denver ballot asked voters whether to lower the city’s sales and use tax and cap it at 4.5%.
DENVER — Denver voters on Tuesday were voting against Initiated Ordinance 304, which asked whether to lower the city’s sales and use tax and cap it at 4.5%.
A YES vote was to decrease the sales tax from 4.81% to 4.5% and keep it at that rate. If in the future, voters passed a special sales tax, the city would have to adjust the existing tax to maintain the total at 4.5%.
A NO vote was to keep the city’s sales tax at 4.81%.
Click here for more election results.
Proponents maintained that a sales tax is a tax on poverty because people with lower incomes end up contributing a larger percentage of their income to sales taxes. If adopted, this measure would reduce the city’s sales tax by 6.5% and would “tell the city of Denver to find another way” of funding essential services.
Opponents said the measure would result in an immediate $80 million cut in the city budget and would threaten critical services and jobs. They said it would hurt the city’s ability to repair roads, maintain parks and protect against crime, and could force the city to cut services in areas such as homelessness, mental health and preschool.
For more election results, go to 9news.com/elections.
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