Sales Tax Revenue Growth Stalls

After two years of double digit increases, the Denver 7 county metro area sales tax revenue dropped to 6 percent during the first three months of the year, half of the 12 percent increase recorded in 2022 and a third of the 19 percent in 2021.

The brief recession of the summer of 2020 was ameliorated by the Denver area’s strong population growth in the previous decade. That growth is now flat or declining in many metro counties including Denver. As the national economy begins to slow due to higher interest rates and more constrained national spending, Colorado could see a recession, even if mild, and less sales tax revenue in 2023.