Editorial: Vote no on Ordinance 300 and keep local taxes for local needs

There are a batch of hard questions connected the Denver ballot this election, but Ordinance 300 is not 1 of them.

The question is elemental — should marijuana income taxes beryllium raised successful the metropolis to money pandemic probe astatine the University of Colorado Denver? The reply is no.

The petition is extracurricular the due uses of a section income tax, particularly a misdeed taxation that is narrowly focused connected a azygous merchandise but lone erstwhile it is sold successful the metropolis of Denver. We aren’t saying marijuana taxes couldn’t beryllium accrued successful Denver, but the nexus betwixt metropolis services and the merchandise taxed would request to beryllium overmuch closer.

Voters should accidental nary to Initiated Ordinance 300 successful favour of redeeming precious section taxation dollars for things that request to beryllium addressed locally.

Pandemic probe should beryllium funded by the national authorities successful the nation’s apical probe institutions. Currently, the U.S. national authorities is pouring billions of dollars into pandemic probe and the nation’s apical doctors and scientists are moving tirelessly to make anti-viral medications, larn astir aerial circulation and disguise efficacy, and trim the dispersed of COVID-19 with dependable nationalist policy. Denver taxpayers, who are already paying for the national efforts, bash not request to duplicate these efforts with a importantly smaller contribution.

Ordinance 300 would summation the income taxation connected marijuana products sold wrong the metropolis of Denver from 5.5% to 7%, which would make an estimated $7 cardinal a year. The wealth generated would not adjacent spell to the metropolis of Denver but alternatively it would beryllium funneled to the University of Colorado Denver CityCenter.

That group’s expertise is not infectious diseases.

CityCenter’s past projects person been things similar a postulation capableness and signalization optimization survey for the City of Centennial, a gathering feasibility survey for the Iliff School of Theology, way plan and historical gathering preservation for Central City, and different municipality development-central efforts.

This is not the due determination for a scientific-based probe fund, particularly not a recurring yearly investment. If the CityCenter has a specific, narrowly defined task related to the pandemic it wants to inquire the metropolis to money — for illustration researching the champion ventilation systems to forestall a superspreader lawsuit astatine a circumstantial Denver taste installation — we would beryllium blessed to see that connected its merits, arsenic would the Denver City Council during its the yearly budgeting process.

Nolbert Chavez, the enforcement manager of CityCenter, would beryllium susceptible of administering specified a program, but it would apt necessitate hiring extracurricular experts to physique a probe squad from the crushed up. Chavez is not taking a presumption connected the ballot question but alternatively described to The Post however CityCenter would administer it if voters decided to walk Ordinance 300.

“It would go a cornerstone of our research. It would truly alteration america to excavation successful and prosecute experts from astir the satellite if voters decided that,” Chavez said.

We whitethorn find successful a twelvemonth that cities request to money their ain pandemic probe due to the fact that COVID-19 stubbornly continues to change our day-to-day lives, but a permanently dedicated gross watercourse is premature.

No much than 8% of the funds would spell to wage for the absorption of the probe projects by CityCenter; 75% would beryllium utilized to money probe into idiosyncratic protective equipment; disinfection and sterilization technology; and plan features of carnal spaces. The remaining 25% would beryllium utilized to probe nationalist argumentation and planning.

We’ve cautioned voters from different taxation increases that siphon wealth distant from halfway metropolis services. We opposed 4 ballot questions successful 2018 penning that it was a “slippery-slope inclination we’re seeing connected the Denver ballot this year, wherever 4 projected income taxation increases would collectively make $115 cardinal annually to spell straight to circumstantial causes, immoderate of which look well-outside the mean operations of a metropolis government.”

We impulse Denver voters to crook down Ordinance 300 and prevention the anticipation of raising marijuana taxes for a genuinely section need.

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