{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://crow.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-crow-fights-to-lower-taxes-for-coloradans", "Congressman Crow Fights to Lower Taxes for Coloradans", "2023-10-19", "2023", "2023-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jason Crow", "C001121", "crow.house.gov", "crow", "https://crow.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "AURORA \u2014 Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06) joined Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation in submitting a bipartisan public comment letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), requesting the agency follow its thirty-year precedent and not tax Colorado Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds.\n\nIn August, the IRS issued a new policy proposal that could require Coloradans to pay taxes on future TABOR refunds. The IRS is accepting public feedback on the new guidance.\n\nCongressman Crow joined Colorado\u2019s Congressional members earlier this year in a similar effort and successfully exempted Coloradans from being taxed on TABOR refunds.\n\nIn the letter, the lawmakers wrote:\n\n\u201cTABOR has been part of Colorado\u2019s Constitution since 1992. It requires the State to return excess state revenues from sales tax that the State has not been authorized to retain. [...] Until the recent proposed guidance by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), TABOR refunds have never been considered federal taxable income, regardless of whether these sales tax refunds are issued through income tax returns, and that process should have no impact on the IRS\u2019s decision on how the proposed guidance will impact TABOR refund payments.\u201d\n\nCongressman Crow continues fighting to secure the livelihoods of hardworking Coloradans. Last Congress, Crow pushed the IRS to clear up backlogs and address long wait times for constituents who can\u2019t afford to wait for their tax refund. In 2022, Crow\u2019s office helped over 1,600 CO-06 families and recovered more than $2.6 million in money and benefits owed by the federal government.\n\nA PDF of the letter can be found here, with text appearing below:\n\nOctober 16, 2023\n\nThe undersigned Members of Congress from the state of Colorado submit the following comment regarding the Internal Revenue Service\u2019s proposed guidance in Notice 2023-56. We appreciate the opportunity to provide the below input given the potential impact of this guidance on Coloradans due to our state\u2019s unique and nuanced tax structure.\n\nTABOR has been part of Colorado\u2019s Constitution since 1992. It requires the State to return excess state revenues from sales tax that the State has not been authorized to retain. TABOR refund amounts are determined based on individuals\u2019 adjusted gross incomes, which are set to a six-tier calculation. This calculation is updated annually to appropriately reflect the state\u2019s population and income. Since the constitutional amendment was enacted, Colorado has issued TABOR refunds in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2015, 2021, and 2022. Colorado is expected to issue an additional refund in 2023.\n\nTABOR payments derive from excess state revenue from sales tax payments. Until the recent proposed guidance by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), TABOR refunds have never been considered federal taxable income, regardless of whether these sales tax refunds are issued through income tax returns, and that process should have no effect on the IRS\u2019s decision on how the proposed guidance will impact TABOR refund payments.\n\nBased on the guidance under Notice 2023-56, the IRS derives the basis of taxation for State Tax Refunds, as referenced in Section 3.02, determined under Maines v. Commissioner, 144 T.C. 123, 132 (2015). The case in question determined the federal tax treatment of various state tax credits.\n\nHowever, the TABOR refunds paid by Colorado are not a comparable example under Maines. More specifically, the Colorado Constitution notes that these payments are specifically \u201crefunds\u201d due to excess sales tax revenue. Compared to the examples explained in the guidance and the basis for the decision set out in Maines, there is no clear indication as to why TABOR refunds should be considered includible in an individual\u2019s Federal gross income and, therefore, be subject to further taxation.\n\nFurthermore, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS have specifically requested comments on the \u201cFederal income tax treatment of payments that are characterized under State law as State sales tax refunds in light of the fact that it may not be practicable to determine the amountof State sales tax an individual paid during a particular taxable year.\u201d We appreciate your understanding and inquiry of the unique structure under the Colorado Constitution, given the fact that the issuance of these refunds is a complicated and nuanced process. However, as noted above, the Colorado Constitution notes that these refunds are due to excess sales tax refunds, Maines does not apply to TABOR refunds, and therefore TABOR refunds are not subject to federal income taxation.\n\nThe proposed guidance notes that \u201cState payments that are properly treated as State tax refunds generally are not includible in the recipient\u2019s Federal gross income because, as the return of an overpayment of the recipient\u2019s State tax liability, these refunds are not an accession to wealth.\u201d This essentially describes the TABOR refund\u2013 a repayment of excess tax by the state, which should, therefore, be exempt from further Federal income tax liability\u2013 as is consistent with the previous 30 years of precedent.\n\nBased on the examples explained in the guidance and the basis for the decision set out in Maines, it is clear that TABOR refunds should not be considered includible in an individual\u2019s Federal gross income and therefore should not be subject to further taxation. In addition, based on Notice 2023-56, it would appear that the proposed guidance was only issued following an increase in state payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. TABOR refunds have long existed prior to the pandemic, and Coloradans should not be penalized as a result.\n\nThe TABOR Amendment was a constituent-driven initiative approved by Colorado voters. It is our hope that the above comments provide the necessary insight into the unique circumstance in Colorado and the implications Notice 2023-56 could have on our constituents. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to review and provide our insight on the proposed guidance.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:49:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://crow.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-crow-fights-to-lower-taxes-for-coloradans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5151288826018572, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}