Colorado’s New Retail Delivery Fee Effective 7/1/22 – Updates
Published: July 20th, 2022
The new Colorado Retail Delivery Fee is now in effect, but not without controversy. The Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) hosted a stakeholder workgroup public hearing, recorded the meeting, and provided answers to many questions—one of which has significant implications that we address below.
For background, see our earlier blog on the new Retail Delivery Fee effective 7/1/22.
Here is the 6/24/22 DOR email notice about it:
To All Interested Parties,
On June 23, 2022, the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Taxation, held a stakeholder workgroup to discuss the promulgation of the new Retail Delivery Fee rule and related amendments. The meeting was recorded, and at the request of stakeholders, we are making that recording available for review:
The Department also provided draft rules for public comment:
Stakeholder workgroups are forums for the Department to gather feedback before formal rulemaking hearings.
STC Commentary:
Of greatest significance from the hearing is the requirement for separate returns and per-return filing fees. Many businesses will incur compliance costs that far exceed the fees collected. If instead the fee were reported on the state sales tax return by Branch ID, administrative burdens for taxpayers and the DOR would be greatly reduced. Under TABOR, this new “fee” appears to function as a tax—one that arguably should have been subject to voter approval.