No sooner had we urged support the other day for Initiative 232 — which safeguards and caps Colorado’s simple, flat income tax — than a new analysis by the Common Sense Institute made another strong case this week for the ballot proposal.

If its supporters gather enough voters’ signatures to qualify for next fall’s statewide ballot, it will pose an effective antidote to a reckless, massive tax hike, Initiative 195, that’s also gathering voters’ signatures for Nov. 3. 

Initiative 232’s primary purpose is to stop 195 — all the more reason to support 232. If both make the ballot and win voter approval, the one garnering more votes becomes law. And if 195 becomes law, it will send shockwaves through Colorado’s economy in more ways than one.

Currently, Coloradans who owe income tax to the state pay the same 4.4% rate whatever their income. It’s relatively modest and eminently fair; the more you earn, the more you pay. 

The flat tax has been in place for decades and actually replaced a complicated and economically crippling graduated, or progressive tax — a lot like the federal tax code — which the backers of 195 now want to bring back. Yes, it’s a “progressive” tax that regresses.

Like federal income taxes, 195 would impose a maze of tax brackets ranging from 3.7% for the first $25,000 to 8.4% — nearly doubling the top rate. While Coloradans in some lower tax brackets would pay marginally less, and those in the highest brackets would pay a lot more, the upshot of the measure is it would reap the state government a windfall.

In other words, Initiative 195 is a massive tax hike on Colorado overall. 

A nonpartisan legislative analysis estimated the measure would siphon off another $2 billion to $2.7 billion a year of Coloradans’ tax dollars and funnel it into state coffers. That amounts to more play money for lawmakers to create more programs.

The measure’s permanent tax hike stands to chase off higher income earners as well as businesses — our state’s job creators — to states with more reasonable tax codes. Which means a large potential loss of tax revenue even as the measure raises taxes. 

The new Common Sense Institute analysis quantifies the impact. Among its findings are that, after 195 does all its slicing and dicing to determine which income groups gain or lose under the proposal, the average, across-the-board rate for taxpayers would rise. It would go from the current 4.4% to approximately 5% of taxable income, “making Colorado’s average rate higher than all but one neighboring state,” the analysis concludes.

It gets worse. 

“Colorado would lose approximately $186 million in individual earnings annually due to migration effects, despite a modest net gain in individual taxpayers,” according to the analysis. The analysis also found, “Colorado would experience a net loss of approximately 14 businesses annually and nearly $200 million in corporate profits due to interstate business migration.”

Which makes for an even stronger endorsement of Initiative 232. It would cap the state’s rate at 4.4%. Rates still could be reduced, just not raised.

Both sides of the political divide are sounding the alarm about the dangers of 195’s graduated tax. Even Colorado’s most prominent progressive Democrat, Gov. Jared Polis, told a public forum last month a graduated tax would be “absolutely devastating” for Colorado’s economy. 

If petition circulators approach you to sign onto 195 the next time you’re out shopping, tell them, “No thanks.” If you are asked to sign for 232, do so. 

It’s as straightforward as Colorado’s flat tax.