This is a moment to celebrate–for businesses, tax authorities and consumers. No one thought this could happen 25 years ago, much less 10 years ago. And here we are! Denver and most major cities in Colorado have signed on to the statewide Colorado Sales and Use Tax system (SUTS). Denver has a particularly complex tax system and the SUTS system was modified to flex with Denver’s needs.
According to the Colorado Department of Revenue as of Jan. 8, 2021, 44 municipalities have signed on; an additional eight cities and towns are in the process of getting approvals and signatures, bringing the total to 27 of the 71 home rules being onboarded in 2021.
Business registration continues to grow with the success of SUTS. Currently, 2,146 business–up from 1,673 businesses since Dec. 30, 2020–have voluntarily registered for SUTS.
According to the State of Colorado, overall progress as of Jan. 8, 2021 stands at:
- 27% of the home rules are reviewing and evaluating the system.
- 11% of the home rules have started the process of securing signatures for the agreement.
- 62% of the home rules have signed the agreement and are onboarding the system.
- 0% of the home rules have delayed reviewing the system until they are fully staffed.
The Takeaway
The Simplify Colorado Sales Tax movement started with Paul Archer from Utah, a business owner who moved to Colorado and was stupefied by Colorado’s home rule system. Paul met CADA President Tim Jackson at an event, which lead to their support and others to join in efforts to simplify Colorado sales tax.
Nothing about Colorado sales tax system is straightforward, creating hurdle after hurdle in compliance. The public-private partnership that resulted in SUTS shows that advocacy can make a difference! I take this as an acknowledgment that a single person can move others to act. Collectively, real change can happen.
Home rule, self-collecting jurisdictions can opt in to accept sales and use tax returns via the CDOR SUTS system. To opt in, they need to sign the CDOR MUNIRevs SUTS System User Agreement. The following home rule self-collecting cities have chosen to participate to date.
| Arvada |
| Avon |
| Black Hawk |
| Breckenridge |
| Brighton |
| Canon City |
| Carbondale |
| Colorado Springs |
| Commerce City |
| Cortez |
| Craig |
| Dacono |
| Denver (as of 2/1/21) |
| Durango |
| Englewood |
| Evans |
| Federal Heights |
| Fort Collins |
| Glendale |
| Glenwood Springs |
| Golden |
| Greenwood Village |
| Gunnison |
| Lafayette |
| Lakewood |
| Lamar |
| Littleton |
| Lone Tree |
| Longmont |
| Loveland |
| Montrose |
| Mountain Village |
| Mt Crested Butte |
| Parker |
| Pueblo |
| Ridgway |
| Rifle |
| Sheridan |
| Silverthorne |
| Snowmass Village |
| Steamboat Springs |
| Vail |
| Windsor |
| Winter Park |
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