Two prominent Denver entities representing business interests are backing a proposal to increase the sales tax in order to help fund the operations of Denver Health.

One of the business groups also threw its support behind Mayor Mike Johnston’s push to also hike the city sales tax in order to fund “affordable housing.”    

All told, the two tax proposals would generate about $170 million and catapult the city atop jurisdictions with the highest sales taxes in Colorado.

The Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce came out in support of the 0.34-point tax hike to fund Denver Health, but the proposal to increase Denver taxes by 0.5% divided its board, according to a spokesperson with the chamber.

Specifically, some board members want to see metrics incorporated into the affordable housing tax measure before they can throw their full support behind it, the group said. 

Carly West, its vice president of government affairs, said the chamber is “looking closely at these proposals on behalf of our business community.”

“Maintaining economic competitiveness in the region is a top concern, but we know that availability and affordability of housing to attract and support workers and sufficiently funding critical services are all part of that economic competitiveness,” West earlier said. “At the same time, we also need to maintain a competitive tax structure to attract and maintain businesses here.”

The city has to strike a “balance” between those priorities, which West called “critical,” and said the chamber will be “digging in” to the proposals to see if they “get that balance right.” She added it will be important to the chamber to see accountability and transparency, so it knows the sales tax rate increases, especially for affordable housing, achieve their stated purposes.

The chamber doesn’t object to using sales taxes to fund priorities “in principal,” the chamber said, but reemphasized the need to strike a balance with taxation.

Meanwhile, the Downtown Denver Partnership decided to throw its support behind both measures, with spokesperson Britt Diehl citing the “critical services” that Denver Health provides to the city. Diehl said the partnership sees both measures as an important way to support Denver, where “all can grow and thrive.” 

“Housing affordability continues to be one of our city and state’s most pressing issues, impacting quality of life and competitiveness alike,” she told The Denver Gazette on Monday. “Public health and housing represent two of our policy priorities.”

The partnership has received millions of dollars from the city, part of Denver’s campaign to revitalize downtown Denver. Recently, the city’s Business, Arts, Workforce & Aviation Services Committee approved a contract with the Downtown Denver Partnership to manage $1.7 million in federal funding to support small businesses and attract new ones. 

The city previously gave the group $3 million to award up to $17,000 grants to support businesses impacted by the 16th Street Mall’s construction and $275,000 for creating a brand for the mall’s reopening.

In the past, the partnership has supported a number of sales tax rate increases, deciding on a case-by-case basis, according to Diehl. 

If approved, these two sales tax rate increases will be the seventh and eighth such increases Denver voters have adopted in six years, and the eighth and ninth since 2006. The first sales tax hike from 2006 increased the rate by 0.15 points, and the money was earmarked for the Denver Preschool Program.