Denver voters rejected Mayor Mike Johnston’s effort to increase the local sales tax to support affordable housing projects.
The Denver Post reported Ballot Issue 2R, which would have enacted a 0.5% sales tax increase that would add 50 cents to every $100 spent on most retail purchases to help fund affordable housing development, was rejected by a 52% majority of voters. Also on the ballot, a plan for a 0.34% sales tax increase to support Denver Health went down with 57% of voters opposing the plan.
If approved, the combined efforts would have added 0.84 percentage points to the city’s effective sales tax rate, creating a spike from 8.81% to 9.65%. Johnston, who previously claimed the goal of his affordable housing plan would have created 44,000 additional units, did not immediately comment on the failure of his ballot endeavors.
;
