By Joey Bunch From The Denver Post

A bill that could allow the state to collect taxes on corporate profits in offshore tax havens to fund Colorado schools survived a narrow party-line vote in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The Democrats’ bill, which passed the House 33-31, faces a tough road as it moves from the party’s majority in the chamber to the Senate, where Republicans have a one-seat majority.

The legislation would allow voters in November to decide if the state should try to recoup an estimated $150 million from corporations that do business in the state and store money in jurisdictions that impose little or no taxes, such as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Luxembourg.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, said a vote on the bill Tuesday represented who legislators are fighting for, whether it’s corporations that use tax havens or whether it’s schools, as well as small businesses and individuals who pay their fair share of state taxes.

“All this bill does is put that question on the ballot,” he said.

The bill calls for moving another $150 million into schools, but the windfall is an estimate and there is no evidence that the effort would yield anything for the state, Republicans said.

“Democrats claim they are against evil corporations, well so are Republicans, but we aren’t going to support legislation that unjustly vilifies all corporations on a hunch,” said Rep. Kit Roupe, R-Colorado Springs.

“This careless legislation assumes all corporations are guilty until proven innocent, and I am disappointed Democrats are trying to score political points at the expense of Colorado’s hard-working businesses.”

Like Foote, House Republican leader Brian DelGrosso of Loveland said he was concerned about the message the bill sends.

“The message we’re sending as the state of Colorado is that if we see a pot of money, we will change the law and come after it,” DelGrosso said.

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