Gunnison county citizens pay fifth lowest taxes in state

58 other counties pay more per capita

By Adam Broderick

We all love paying taxes, so why not… Wait, never mind. Few of us like paying taxes, but they’re a necessary evil—income taxes on individuals and businesses, general sales taxes, product-specific taxes—and all taxes collected on both state and local levels are documented and publicly accessible. A recent study suggests that in Gunnison County, we shoulder fewer taxes than almost all other counties in Colorado.
According to the Tax Foundation, per capita income in Colorado in 1980 was $27,788 and total state and local taxes paid per capita were $2,691. In 2011, per capita income for Colorado residents was $42,473 and total taxes paid per capita were $4,217.
Steve Sabato of SmartAsset.com, an interactive website featuring tools that supposedly make financial decisions easier, says everyone feels a tax burden of some kind, but its weight can vary across different states and countries.
“A recent study by SmartAsset calculated the amount of money a specific person would pay in income, sales, property and fuel taxes in each county in Colorado, and ranked them lowest to highest in terms of tax [rates],” Sabato wrote in an email. “I think residents (and prospective residents) would love to hear about Gunnison County’s rank as one of the places in Colorado offering the lowest tax [rates].”
Sabato provided a list of ten counties (out of 64) with the lowest tax rates in Colorado based on income, sales, property, and fuel taxes. Las Animas County experiences the lowest tax rates and Delta County the highest of the ten counties ranked lowest, with Gunnison County ranked the fifth lowest. Residents of Pitkin County (home of Aspen) pay the highest property taxes (average $10,182 in 2012) and Boulder collects the most sales tax (4.985 percent).
In 2014, Colorado residents paid an average $899 in sales tax, $1,323 in property tax and $170 in fuel tax. Fuel tax is based on miles driven per licensed driver and those numbers vary per county, but the tax rate is consistent statewide. In 2013, Colorado drivers paid 22 cents in tax per gallon of gasoline.
The smartasset.com results used a median household income ($51,939 according to the US Census Bureau 2014) to figure the average income tax paid in counties throughout Colorado is $10,263. It was assumed that an average 35 percent of take-home pay is spent on taxable goods. Median property value for Colorado was set at $250,000. Average fuel tax was based on miles driven per licensed drivers in registered vehicles.
In Las Animas County, average annual sales tax paid in 2014 was $454, property tax $721 and fuel tax $162 for a total of $11,600. In Delta County, sales tax paid averaged $767, property tax $1,070 and fuel tax $143 for a total of $12,243. In Gunnison County, average sales tax paid was $705, property tax $905 and fuel tax $167 for a total of $12,040.
The Tax Foundation says America will pay more in taxes in 2015 than it will spend on food, clothing and housing combined. “In 2015, America will pay $3.3 trillion in taxes to the federal government and an additional $1.5 trillion to state and local government. America’s total tax bill of $4.8 trillion is about 31 percent of the nation’s total income.”
To calculate taxes in other counties or states, visit smartasset.com and let their program do the math.

For the study referenced in this story, visit https://smartasset.com/taxes/colorado-tax-calculator#map