Colorado’s Battle Over Tax Limits Could Shape Future Growth

By 2030, Colorado’s population will grow from 5 million to 7 million people, thanks in part to a strong and diverse economy, the state’s famed Rocky Mountain quality of life, and its constitutionally-mandated low taxes.

The Rocky Mountains rise beyond Denver skyline on Jan. 24, 2016. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

DENVER—By 2030, Colorado’s population will grow from 5 million to 7 million people, thanks in part to a strong and diverse economy, the state’s famed Rocky Mountain quality of life, and its constitutionally-mandated low taxes.

And because of those voter-sanctioned tax limits, this fast-growing state could someday fall victim to its own success.

The contradiction is most evident when the rubber hits Colorado’s aging and underfunded roads. The state’s Democratic governor, John Hickenlooper, is trying to find ways to squeeze more revenue for roads from the budget, while Republicans don’t want to tamper with the fabled 1992 constitutional amendment known as TABOR that keeps a tight limit on those taxes.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper at a rally in Aurora, Colo., on Oct. 21, 2014. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images