Denver a model for arts taxes in West, reports Christian Science Monitor

Denver is a model city for arts-supporting taxes in the West, according to a story in the Christian Science Monitor.

Excerpt:

By going to the polls to create a tax for the arts, metropolitan Denver sparked imaginations across the West. Voters in Denver and surrounding counties in 1989 approved a sales tax of a tenth of 1 percent, or a penny on every $10 spent, to support museums, theaters, dance companies, and institutions such as the zoo. 

It's "public patronage of the arts," says Peg Long, director of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), which oversees fund distribution.

State and federal budgets have regularly cut arts funding during tough times. But in a reverse trend, voters in several Western states are slowly following Denver's lead by committing to a small arts tax that continues to yield big results.

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Eric is a Denver-based tech writer and guidebook wiz. Contact him here.
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