- Proponents of Initiative 195 launched a signature drive in Denver to establish a graduated income tax system.
- The measure aims to lower taxes for 97% of Coloradans while raising rates for high earners.
- A competing initiative aims to cap taxes at four point four percent to block graduated rates.
Proponents of Colorado’s tax initiative rallied canvassers July 18 at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Denver, beginning a final signature drive before the August 2026 petition deadline for the November ballot. The campaign centers on Initiative 195, which would replace the state’s flat income-tax rate with a graduated system.
The event brought volunteers together as Protect Colorado’s Future pushed to qualify the measure. The coalition says the plan would lower or preserve tax rates for 97% of Coloradans.
Initiative 195 would keep lower rates for households with less income and raise the rate on earnings above $500,000. The state estimates the proposal could generate between $2 billion and $2.7 billion annually.
Free toolSubstantial Presence Test CalculatorSupporters want that money directed to education, healthcare and child care. They describe the new revenue as a response to a budget crisis linked to state revenue limits and federal funding cuts.
The tax campaign is unfolding beside separate ballot and federal immigration disputes. The Department of Homeland Security does not directly oversee Colorado’s tax initiative, but statements from federal officials have influenced the political setting around state election campaigns.
Initiative 195 would create five income brackets
Colorado’s current flat tax rate is 4.4%. Initiative 195 would apply different rates to federal taxable income:
| Federal taxable income | Proposed rate |
|---|---|
| $25,000 or less | 3.70% |
| $25,001 to $100,000 | 4.20% |
| $100,001 to $500,000 | 4.40% |
| $500,001 to $1 million | 5.50% |
| More than $1 million | 8.41% |
The proposal would leave the 4.40% rate in place for income between $100,001 and $500,000. Earners above $500,000 would face higher rates under the plan.
Protect Colorado’s Future says 97% of state residents would receive a modest reduction or see no change. Its campaign has tied the resulting revenue to public services rather than identifying a single program as the sole beneficiary.
The Colorado General Assembly’s Initiative 195 page identifies the measure as the 2025-2026 graduated income tax proposal.
A competing measure would block a future graduated system
Advance Colorado is backing Initiative 232, which would cap the flat tax at 4.4%. The measure is designed to prevent any future graduated tax from taking effect.
Advance Colorado submitted 190,000 signatures July 15. That filing gives the competing campaign a separate place in the qualification fight, just days before the Denver rally for Initiative 195 canvassers.
The two tax measures present voters with opposing approaches. Initiative 195 would establish rates as high as 8.41%, while Initiative 232 would preserve a 4.4% ceiling.
Federal election statements added pressure around the ballot cycle
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued a statement July 17 about states that do not participate in the SAVE program, or Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. He connected participation with federal scrutiny of voter records and election officials.
"If the states that choose not to participate with the SAVE program and they choose not to participate in securing the elections, we will make sure that we make those states a priority to look at who voted in their states, and hold the election officials accountable."
Mullin’s comments came one day after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that DHS had issued a final rule rescinding the 2022 Biden-era regulation on public charge determinations. The announcement said the change would align immigration law with congressional intent that noncitizens in the United States remain self-reliant and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits.
The USCIS Newsroom lists the public-charge regulation update dated July 16, 2026.
Initiative 95 links immigration enforcement to local charges
Colorado’s election cycle also includes Initiative 95. It would require state and local law enforcement to notify DHS within 72 hours when they charge a noncitizen with a violent crime or when the person has a prior felony.
That proposal directly intersects with the federal department’s stated goals under Mullin. It also has a different subject from Initiative 195, which concerns state income-tax rates and revenue.
The combination has raised concern among noncitizen residents about using state-funded services and interacting with local law enforcement. The public-charge rule change and Initiative 95 appeared in the same election environment, while the tax campaign focused on state services such as healthcare and child care.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s initiative tracking page provides the state’s initiative and petition-deadline information. The canvassing effort at Martin Luther King Jr. Park marked the latest push to place Initiative 195 before November voters.
