upon entering office, owens worked with a legislature controlled by his own republican party to push through the largest tax relief package in state history, amounting to $1 billion in rate cuts to the sales, personal-income, and capital-gains taxes. owens also championed, and eventually won, the elimination of the state's marriage penalty. by 2006, the owens administration estimated the overall tax cuts pushed through during his administration had saved coloradans $3.6 billion.