Boulder eases up on contractor audits

BOULDER – The city of Boulder won’t audit contractors who may have underpaid construction use taxes during a specific time, and it may change the way it estimates upfront fees.

In September the city claimed that between June 1, 2006 and June 30 2009 roughly 1,000 contractors had underpaid construction use taxes totaling between $1.9 million and $5.2 million, and officials intended to collect it.

Recently, City Manager Jane Brautigam, who was unavailable for comment Thursday morning, said the city doesn’t plan to audit contractors who haven’t paid their back taxes. But those who were previously audited and are repaying what they…