Over the past year and a half, the worst of the COVID economy shuttered mom ’n’ pop shops from Colorado’s small towns to its big cities. Restaurants and the hospitality industry in general suffered mightily, and their employees — the linchpins of Colorado’s tourism industry — were idled at home without income. Those were only some of the economic sectors that suffered.

And yet, over the past three years, Denver’s sales tax rate rose by almost a third. As noted in the election guide the city recently mailed out to voters, a typical new car purchased in Denver in 2018 would cost the buyer about $1,500 in sales tax. Today, the tax bill would be $2,000.

When you consider that the sales tax hits the poor especially hard — they have to pay as much as everyone else for basic, everyday goods — it’s time to draw the line.

We urge a YES vote on Initiated Ordinance 304. It will modestly cut Denver’s 4.81% sales tax and cap it at 4.5% rate. If in a future election voters approve a special sales tax that pushes Denver’s total sales tax rate above 4.5%, the city will be required under 304 to adjust its existing sales and use tax rates to keep the total take no higher than 4.5%.

Denver’s mayor among others have sounded the alarm about an $80 million reduction in revenue from 304’s initial tax cut. Yet, it’s hard to imagine there isn’t room to economize in a $1.49 billion municipal budget. Yes, without cutbacks in essential services, either.

COVID’s economic casualties had to get by on a tighter budget. The City and County of Denver can do so, as well — as we all try to recover economically.