Proponents of cutting taxes for most Coloradans and raising them for richer ones talked about why in an online forum put on by the Colorado League of Women Voters Wednesday night.

The Fair Tax, as it’s called, would net about $2 billion a year for the state, a big chunk of the $3.3 billion deficit the state budget is facing because of the coronavirus.

Colorado is one of just nine states with a flat tax, a levy that applies to everyone regardless of income. Other states charge graduated progressive rates.

Initiative 271 would lower the rate to 4.58% for those earning less than $250,000 and raise it to 7% on earnings above that up to $500,000.

Half the money would go to education and the other half to support the growing economy, including transportation, higher education, public health or housing, supporters said Wednesday night.

The Fair Tax Colorado and the Colorado Fiscal Institute are driving the question, with support from the 2,000-member League of Women Voters.

The league’s Toni Larson said of each of the league’s members got 40 signatures, it would go a long way to collecting the 124,632 signatures it’ll take to qualify for the November ballot.

Abby Vining of the Vision 2020 Network, said the Colorado coalition of about 60 organizations is interested in creating an “equitable, stable, adequate, competitive and flexible tax code.”

Caitlin Schneider, the outreach director for the Colorado Fiscal Institute, said half the windfall would go to “recruit, retain and pay teacher and student staff support” in K-12 schools.

“The other half would go to address the ‘impacts of a growing population and a changing economy,’ she said. “That language was put there intentionally in the bill to give our legislators that flexibility, one of our guiding principles.”

The tax hike on the rich won’t go uncontested, however.

The conservative Independence Institute think tank in Denver is backing a measure called Initiative 306 to reduce the state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55% across the board, rich or poor.

The ballot initiative is backed by Energize our Economy, a coalition that includes Colorado Rising State Action, Unite for Colorado and Americans for Prosperity.

“Colorado’s flat income tax is not only fair, but it also makes our state an attractive place to work and live,” Michael Fields, the executive director of Colorado Rising State Action, told Colorado Politics on Wednesday. “Instead of raising taxes on Coloradans, we should pass a small across-the-board tax cut — which would help our state economy recover faster.”

Colorado Rising State Action also is backing a ballot question, Initiative 295, to require approval from voters statewide whenever government tries to increase fees. The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in the state constitution requires tax increases to go before voters, but not fees.

This story was corrected to change the Fair Tax Coalition to Fair Tax Colorado.