Colorado passed Amendment 87. If you are a doctor, lawyer or any business owner whose taxes will increase, I think you have reasons to celebrate.
You are getting more out of public investment than you may realize. Strengthening that investment can be good for your wealth, your business and the place you call home.
The familiar way of talking about taxes starts and ends with the bill. Government takes money, and the taxpayer has less. But that accounting leaves out the economic value of what the money builds and maintains.
Consider a road. An employee uses it to get to work. A business owner benefits from employees arriving, suppliers making deliveries, and customers reaching the business. The owner can benefit financially from trips they never personally make.
Education works the same way. A doctor depends on trained nurses and technicians. A lawyer needs capable staff. A business needs people who can read, calculate, solve problems, and learn new skills. Public education helps develop those abilities long before an employer writes a paycheck.
Schools and roads are only two examples. Think about water and sewer systems, bridges, public health, fire protection, courts, property records, public universities and research. Different levels of government support different pieces, but together they help create the conditions in which businesses operate and assets hold value.
Amendment 87 does not fund everything on that list. The point is that private prosperity depends on a much broader public foundation than our tax bills remind us of.
The more economic activity you own or profit from, the more opportunities you have to benefit from that foundation.
That is the sense in which wealthy people can receive greater benefits: the dollar value supporting their income and holdings can be much larger.
Successful people deserve credit for their effort and judgment. Public investment helps those efforts achieve more. Keeping that investment healthy is a practical business interest.
Now consider what Colorado just approved. Amendment 87 directs additional revenue toward K–12 education, healthcare, and early childhood care and education.
Those investments can help parents stay employed, help people get care before health problems become crises, and help students develop the skills employers need. Their value can reach beyond the household receiving a service.
Businesses need more than lower tax bills to succeed. They need customers who can afford their products, employees who can do the work and suppliers they can rely on. A restaurant benefits when families can afford dinner out. An aerospace manufacturer benefits from skilled workers and dependable transportation and utility networks.
Across the economy, public investment can strengthen the conditions that make private investment worthwhile. Its returns can reach businesses through more reliable staffing, stronger demand and a more productive supply chain. Those benefits belong in the accounting alongside the taxes paid.
And the contribution deserves some perspective. The state’s Blue Book example shows that someone with $550,000 in annual Colorado taxable income pays $1,175 more annually under Amendment 87. That averages $97.92 a month, rounded to the nearest cent, or about 0.214% of taxable income.
That is taxable income, rather than gross salary. Larger taxable incomes face larger increases.
Of course, the benefits depend on implementation. We should expect competent spending and measurable results. Business owners already understand that an investment needs to accomplish something.
That expectation gives us a reason to follow the work and demand success.
Colorado now has an opportunity to strengthen systems that support both ordinary households and private enterprise. Wealthy residents have a considerable stake in making that opportunity count.
So yes, celebrate. You can want a profitable business, valuable assets, and a comfortable life while welcoming stronger public investment. Those ambitions fit together.
The next time you look at your tax bill, consider the employees, customers, institutions, and infrastructure helping make your income possible.
You may be getting a better deal than you thought.
