Elimination of Colorado tax breaks gets initial approval in state senate

The Colorado Senate gave initial approval to a package of bills removing tax breaks on candy, soda, software, junk mail and other items Monday night.

After more than 11 hours of debate on the bills Monday, the Senate approved the package just before 11:30 p.m. and only after a last-minute partisan dust-up nearly led to an all-night filibuster. The Senate started on the measures Friday, debating them for four hours.

The floor debate followed two marathon days of hearings last week on the measures in a Senate committee. The bills, anticipated to bring as much as $140 million as the state tries to cover a budget shortfall next year of at least $1.3 billion, went through a similar grind in the House the week before.

The debate over eliminating or suspending tax credits and exemptions has quickly become the defining issue of the 2010 session. Gov. Bill Ritter has proposed cuts to spending along with removing the tax breaks as a way to help balance the budget.

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