|
Dan Pilcher
CACI
Senior Vice President
& Chief
Operating Officer
Phone:
303.866.9600
E-Mail:
dpilcher@cochamber.com
Friday,
August 7, 2009
CACI to Release First-Ever Survey of Businesses about Tax
Incentives
Early next
week, CACI will release the results of its first-ever survey
about major business tax incentives that are likely to be
considered for elimination during the 2010 legislative session.
We thank all the companies that participated in the survey.
The survey
results will provide CACI with critical data about how
elimination of these tax incentives would affect individual
Colorado businesses across the state, which will counter the
arguments of those lawmakers now thinking about eliminating the
incentives.
The Colorado
General Assembly and Governor Bill Ritter are struggling to find
ways to balance the state budget because of continuing,
substantial revenue shortfalls. Some legislators are advocating
the elimination of current sales tax exemptions, exclusions,
deductions and enterprise zone credits as budget-balancing
options.
The CACI Tax
Council has reviewed current tax incentives and identified a
number that are critical to maintaining a healthy business
climate in Colorado. In general, the legislature created these
incentives to promote economic development and growth across the
state and also to assist specific vital industries. Compared to
other states and countries, Colorado’s economic development
toolbox has been relatively sparse for decades.
For
information about this project, please contact Loren Furman,
CACI Vice President of Governmental Affairs, at 303.866.9642 or
via e-mail at
lfurman@COchamber.com
Political Fireworks Highlight First Meeting of the Legislative
Interim Committee on Pinnacol Assurance
At the first
meeting of the Legislative Interim Committee on Pinnacol
Assurance, political fireworks characterized the session. CACI
is most concerned, however, that
there is an effort by members of the committee to broaden the
Committee’s charge to include a review of the entire workers’
compensation system, which CACI and its business allies
successfully lobbied to have removed from the bill that created
the Committee.
For coverage
of the first meeting and the issues surrounding Pinnacol by
The Denver Post, click on:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12986673
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12993515
http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_12950463?source=email
http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_12942207?source=email
On July 28th, Senator Carroll issued a press
release calling on injured workers to attend the hearing on
August 31st to present their stories. Senator Carroll is an
attorney who specializes in workers’ comp cases on behalf of
injured workers. According to her law firm’s Web site, Senator
Carroll is “committed
to protecting the rights of individual citizens against large
corporations and against government encroachment on civil
liberties. Her practice has special emphasis on advocacy for
disabled people. She focuses on wrongful delay or denial of
insurance claims. Advocating for justice for individuals is her
number one priority.” For more on her law practice, click on:
http://www.bradleyandcarroll.com/?Morgan_Carroll
CACI would
encourage members who have had a positive experience with their
workers’ compensation claims to share their story with the
committee through testimony.
If you are interested in testifying, please contact CACI Vice
President of Governmental Affairs Loren Furman at
lfurman@cochamber.com or by phone at 303.866.9642.
SB-281
created the interim committee and charged it to study “the
operation of Pinnacol Assurance including, but not limited to
both the feasibility of the continued operation and the public
policy implications of Pinnacol Assurance as a division of state
government or the feasibility and public policy implications of
selling Pinnacol Assurance to a willing third-party buyer.”
The Committee
is scheduled to meet five more times (9 a.m.—4 p.m., in House
Committee Room 112 at the State Capitol.): August 14th and 31st;
September 4th and 18th; and October 16th. For more on the
Pinnacol Committee, click on:
http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/lcsstaff/2009/comsched/09PinnacolAssurance.html
CACI’s Loren Furman Testifies Before the Business Personal
Property Tax Task Force
At its first
meeting last Friday, Loren Furman, CACI Vice President of
Governmental Affairs, testified before the Business Personal
Property Task Force. Here is an edited summary of Loren’s
comments.
-
CACI
commends Senator Mark Scheffel (R-Parker) and sponsors of
SB-85 for their hard work on the bill last session.
-
CACI is
disappointed that the phase-out of the BPPT in SB-85 did not
remain in the bill, but CACI appreciates the efforts of this
Task Force and thinks that this is an opportunity to find an
equitable solution for addressing the tax.
-
During
the session, CACI worked with the sponsors of the bill
through a coalition of CACI members. These members are very
interested in ensuring that any proposal to phase-out or
eliminate the BPPT is an equitable approach.
-
As
Legislative Council staff member Todd Herreid’s presentation
indicates, this tax is clearly unbalanced and only a few
companies are paying the lion’s share of the tax.
-
CACI
member companies continue to tell us that it is very
expensive for them to invest in new business personal
property in Colorado, and that it is even more frustrating
that they have to pay the tax on business personal property
that has fully depreciated.
-
Some of
the ideas that CACI members have discussed include
eliminating the tax for property that has fully depreciated
or eliminating the tax on new property purchased.
-
CACI
appreciates the challenges that this Task Force is faced in
trying to find an answer, but we think it’s important to
consider the potential expansion and investment by business
in Colorado if they weren’t burdened with this tax.
-
If this
tax were to be reduced, then companies would be able to take
advantage of that tax relief to hire additional employees,
invest in new equipment or increase wages and benefits.
For coverage
by The Denver Post of the Task Force’s first hearing,
click on:
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12971909
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12963388
The next
meeting of the Task Force will be Tuesday, August 18th, from
9:00 a.m. until 4 p.m. in House Committee Room (HCR) 112 at the
State Capitol.
CACI urges
members to testify before the Task Force about the impact of the
BPPT on their businesses. If you are interested in testifying,
please
contact
CACI Vice President of Governmental Affairs Loren Furman at
lfurman@cochamber.com or by phone at 303.866.9642.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the Task Force’s
meetings:
·
Friday,
August 21st,
9:00 a.m.--4:00 p.m.
·
Tuesday,
October 13th,
9:00
a.m.--4:00 p.m.
·
Wednesday,
October 28th,
9:00
a.m.--4:00 p.m.
·
Thursday,
October 29th,
9:00
a.m.--4:00 p.m.
The Task
Force, created by SB-85, is directed to study and consider the
following:
-
Business personal property tax exemptions that
eliminate or phase-out the business personal property tax;
-
An analysis of the cumulative fiscal impact of
the exemptions on the state and local governments; and
-
Identification of methods to reimburse any
revenue losses to local governments resulting from the
exemptions.
SB-85 was
originally introduced by Senator Mark Scheffel (R-Parker) as a
phase-out of the business personal property tax from 2009
through 2027 only for locally assessed property. CACI worked
with Senator Scheffel and a coalition of CACI’s members to
ensure that the bill fairly treated both locally assessed and
state assessed companies. The bill, amended to ensure such
equity, also included a forty-year phase-out of the tax. CACI
then supported the amended bill. The amended bill passed out of
the three committees of reference but did not receive majority
support on the Senate Floor. A motion was offered and passed
that returned the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee
where it was amended to limit the bill to the creation of the
Task Force.
CACI Thanks Colorado Printing Company for Contribution for Print
CACI’s 2009 Legislative Session Report
By now, CACI
members should have received a copy of CACI’s report on the 2009
session of the Colorado General Assembly. We especially wish to
thank CACI member Colorado Printing Company, Grand Junction, for
its contribution to print the report.
Dan Thurlow,
Board Chair of Colorado Printing Company, is a member of the
CACI Board of Directors. To learn more about the Colorado
Printing Company, click on:
http://www.coloradoprinting.com/
Junior Achievement Seeks Classroom Volunteers from Business
Community
The new
school year is just around the corner. CACI members can have a
major effect on students when they become a classroom volunteer
with Junior Achievement (JA).
http://www.jacolorado.org/
When adult
volunteers invest time in a child’s learning and involve
themselves in students’ lives, they inspire a future
generation. JA is a non-profit youth development
organization founded in 1919. JA's educational programs, taught
by business volunteers in grades K-12, focus on work readiness,
entrepreneurship and financial literacy. They teach young
people important skills to help them become economically
empowered and self sufficient.
In the fall
of 2000, the CACI Educational Foundation turned over to JA its
“Colorado Business Week” program, which was a summer, week-long
program attended by high school juniors and seniors, who were
taught about business and entrepreneurship by volunteer CACI
members.
JA needs
business people to go into the classroom and bring the JA
curriculum to life. JA provides relevance to what students
learn in school by linking an education to future career
opportunities. JA curriculum comes alive when experienced
business volunteers use JA materials to lead students through
hands-on lesson plans about work readiness, entrepreneurship and
financial literacy. Business volunteers act as valuable role
models for students by sharing professional experiences that
help students understand how education leads to success in their
lives. Students who participate in JA demonstrate: an increased
desire to stay in school; a sense of personal economic
empowerment; preparedness to enter the workforce; and the
ability to utilize critical thinking skills.
JA provides
comprehensive training, materials and support to business
volunteers, which makes it easy to get involved and help
students understand how education directly affects their
future. JA classes are taught in kindergarten through high
school, a teacher is always present, and the time commitment is
flexible so a business person can volunteer around his or her
schedule. Business volunteers do not have to have prior
experience. The JA staff is available to answer questions, give
suggestions and help make the experience rewarding and
successful.
CACI members
who would like further details should call Hollie Stevenson at
303.534.5252 or e-mail her at
hstevenson@jacolorado.org |
