Helping small-business grow in Colorado

Let me start with this: it is not my plan to help create new small-businesses before we help existing ones. However, if we want to create new jobs part of that plan must be to encourage entrepreneurs in Colorado.

We need to do more for all small-businesses and much more to make Colorado the place to do business. That means eliminating redundant or unnecessary regulatory burdens, not the ones that protect consumers but the ones that nobody wants anymore.

One way we can help make Colorado “the place” to be an entrepreneur is to eliminate state income taxes on new small businesses for their first year in operation. Most small businesses are not profitable in their first year of operation anyway and so few would actually pay state income taxes whether my plan was put into effect or not.

What it does help do is encourage businesses to start-up in Colorado by alleviating some of the projected cost of doing business. Existing businesses in the state will benefit from having more customers if there are more jobs in Colorado. One way we can create jobs is to help people take an idea to market and hire people to make it happen.

I think a good counter-argument is, "Can we afford to do that in the already tight state budget?" What we must look at is how much money will we gain over the long-term when more small businesses start, succeed, and grow in Colorado. If given the opportunity we should see more revenue when a small business does pay income tax in the "second year" of operation than we would ever lose in the initial investment.

I would not be in favor of directly cutting spending in order to achieve a theoretical tax incentive. I want our money to go to education and state services more than I want a new frozen yogurt shop in Fort Collins built on the back of the taxpayer. The idea is that after we make an initial investment we will see more revenue for the state and more ability to pay for the many other things we want. 

We must also be careful not to grow too quickly. The impact of an unsustainable surge in growth has unintended consequences for things you would not expect. Even though bringing new companies to Colorado or opening new businesses is considered a victory it actually means more wear and tear on our infrastructure, a drain on school resources, and higher rates of energy consumption. So, not to dampen the mood, but we have to balance our ambitions for growth with our desire for a high quality of living.

Our ambitions and our needs are not contradictory though. We can make it easier to do business and create jobs in Colorado without sacrificing vital service spending. We can grow sustainably without placing a burden on citizens to support every economic development plan we dream up.

All it takes is creativity and hard work.