Dolores County considers

sales tax

Colorado counties which have a sales tax are shown in blue. Counties considering new sales tax are yellow. Compiled by Dolores County.

Ore Cart map - March 4, 2022

Dolores County annual property tax revenues have been falling since 2015 due to declining oil and gas well production in the county.

The Dolores County Commissioners presented the financial situation at a public forum Monday, February 28th, 2022 at 6:00 PM. A proposal for a county-wide sales tax to replace lost property tax revenue so that County services may be continued in future years at the current level is being considered for the November 2022 election ballot.

_________

Amounts shown in the charts below

provided by Dolores County.

Charts design by Ore Cart.

_________

Dolores County Commissioners conduct a sales tax forum Monday, February 28th, 2022 at 6:00 PM. Image is a screenshot from the webcast.

Ore Cart screenshot

assessed valuation decline

Total countywide taxable property valuation has fallen about $45 million since 2015. This drop occurred in spite of rising residential property values, and is atrributed.

Annual property tax assessments calculations include well-site land value, installed equipment and annual production, according to Dolores County.

Ore Cart chart - March 4, 2022

property tax revenue decline

The valuation drop caused a decline in annual property tax revenue of about $1.25 million from 2015 to 2021. Property tax revenue in 2021 was about 71% of the total in 2015.

Compared to if 2015 annual property tax revenue had remained unchanged in the following years, total lost revenue 2016-2021 was $5.48 million.

Ore Cart chart - March 4, 2022

Oil and gas industry contributed about $73 of every $100 of Dolores County property tax revenue in 2015. In 2020, that ratio was 65 percent.

oil & gas percent of total revenue

Ore Cart chart - March 4, 2022

Eleven Colorado counties do not presently collect sales taxes. The only county in this group with more than 30,000 population is Weld County. Urban areas in Weld county include Greeley with a population of more than 100,000, and the north portion of Brighton, a Denver suburb.

population data provided

by Dolores County

NO SALES TAX

COLORADO COUNTIES

Existing sales taxes in the two Dolores County municipalities are 2% at Dove Creek, 5% at Rico.

Dove Creek exempts fuel for residential heating use and electric power from sales taxes. Rico collects a 2% municipal franchise fee on monthly electric bills, Dove Creek's is 5%.

The San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation collects 0.25% sales tax at Rico.

The State of Colorado sales tax is 2.9%, with several retail items and services exempted. See Appendix for the list of exemptions.

DR 1002 (01/01/22)
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Taxpayer Service Division

Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rates
For most recent version see Tax.Colorado.gov

This publication, which is updated on January 1 and July 1 each year, lists Colorado Sales/Use Tax rates throughout the state. All state collected city/county sales taxes or rate changes may become effective only on January 1 or July 1. The total tax rate for any jurisdiction must be computed by adding all taxes applicable to that jurisdiction. Colorado sales tax lookup tool is available https://colorado.ttr.services/

Retail Marijuana Sales Tax (RMS)
 

The RMS tax rate is 15% with no exemptions. Use tax is not applicable. The Colorado Sales Tax Service Fee (also known as the Vendor’s Fee) is 0%. Tax is remitted electronically only. Retail marijuana and retail marijuana products are taxable.

State Sales Tax
 

The state sales/use tax rate is 2.9% with exemptions A, B, C, D, E, G, H, K, L, M, O, P, Q and R. The sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products are exempt from the 2.9% state tax. Additional sales/use tax exemptions can be found at Tax.Colorado.gov. The Colorado sales tax Service Fee rate (also known as Vendor’s Fee) is 0.0400 (4.0%) with a Cap of $1,000.00. The sales tax is remitted on the DR 0100, “Retail Sales Tax Return”. Net taxable sales greater than $1,000,000.00 Service Fee reduced to zero.

Exemptions

County, Municipality, and Special District Sales/Use Tax Exemptions Options: If an exemption is not listed, state-collected local jurisdictions do not have that exemption option.

A) Food for domestic home consumption
B) Machinery and machine tools, other than those described in exemption (P) below
C) Gas, electricity, and other specified fuels for residential use § 39-26-715(1)(a)(II), C.R.S.
D) Low-volume sales by charitable organizations
E) Farm equipment, not including animal identification equipment unless expressly exempted by the city or county
G) Food, not including candy and soft drinks, sold through vending machines
H) Certain medium and heavy-duty vehicles, engines, motors, and conversion parts
L) Beetle wood products as defined in § 39-26-723, C.R.S. effective July 1, 2021
K) Renewable energy components
M) Sales for the benefit of Colorado schools, school activities, and school organizations

O) Property used in space flight
P) Machinery or machine tools used in the processing of recovered materials by a business listed in the inventory prepared by the Department of Public Health & Environment
Q) Sales on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products
R) Manufactured homes constructed on a permanent chassis in compliance with Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code)