A campaign to increase the amusement tax in Manitou Springs raises the question of who is paying their fair share of taxes. It is a ballot measure with the goal of offsetting budget shortfalls caused by a massive drop in marijua na tax revenue after Colorado Springs legalized retail marijuana sales.Manitou is a small town with a big budget problem. When Colorado Springs approved retail marijuana sales, Manitou's monopoly along the Highway 24 corridor took a hit."We knew it was going to hit hard, but it hit harder than expected. That combined with cost increases, it was sort of a perfect storm," said Ralph Routon with Fair Taxes for Manitou Springs.A citizen's group concerned about cuts to city staff and services got city council to put a proposed amusement tax increase on the ballot. It mainly impacts the Cog Railway, the Iron Mountain Chateau, Adventures Out West Zipline, and the Cliff Dwellings."Tourism is our business. We've been in Manitou for 15 years doing the zip lines out here. It's been a fantastic adventure," said Greg Wellans, owner of Adventures Out West.Wellans says taxes are part of doing business, but this proposed tax shifts a community-wide issue to just a few businesses."Youve got to look at the math and what is fair," Wellans said.Supporters call their campaign "Fair Taxes for Manitou Springs." The opposition argues the claim of fair needs a closer look."Amusement tax has been 5%. It would go up to 9% to level up with the sales tax to help the city get through a really bad budget crisis," Routon said."They're trying to cloud the picture. If you combine the county, the state, and the city tax, it's 9.03%," Wellans said.Manitou's website shows the just over 9% rate is a combination of the city sales tax along with county and state taxes. The city sales tax is closer to 3.5%, and the amusement tax is a higher 5%.It is up to voters to decide how it all adds up."Well, perhaps they could raise the retail tax on the rest of the businesses in town so they pay 5%. That seems like that would be fair to us. There's lots of options. Why is it always raise the taxes?" Wellans said."Probably tourism would pay for 90% plus of this tax revenue. It's projected at a little over a million dollars," Routon said.Election day is in November, but because ballots go out at the first of October, both sides are ramping up their campaigns now."This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."_______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching. ...read more read less