Colorado’s property values have been soaring — and everyone was dreading what would come next. The other shoe dropped on homeowners this past spring when they were stunned by property-tax bills that had leaped 25% or more.
The state Legislature — torn between the public’s demands for relief and lawmakers’ predilection for growing government through more programs — essentially punted. It passed, and the governor signed, what purported to be relief but was only a pale imitation.
The legislation, which was rushed through just before lawmakers adjourned in May, turned out to provide precious little relief. It does nothing to roll back the surges in property-tax bills that have slammed Colorado homeowners.
Its 5.5% cap on annual increases in property tax bills is too timid to help much, and it’s rendered nearly meaningless by loopholes. Even supposed concessions to business are illusory, like a reduced assessment rate for commercial property that, in fact, excludes a lot of commercial property.
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What’s needed is tax relief that not only curbs property taxes from spiraling ever upward so fast, but that also rolls them back to more earthly levels as a new starting point. After all, taxpayers are reeling from inflation as it is.
In other words, what’s needed is true tax relief — and the good news is it’s on the way.
Advocacy group Advance Colorado has written two ballot proposals for November that promise the property-tax relief our state’s hard-pressed homeowners and other property owners have been longing for.
Both initiatives have our editorial board’s support — and warrant the support of voters.
Amendment 50, which has gathered sufficient signatures from Colorado voters to secure a spot on the fall ballot, would cap future property-tax increases from year to year at 4%. That’s more than enough wiggle room to allow local governments to keep up with growing demand for their services.
And last week, Advance Colorado turned in nearly 200,000 voters’ signatures in support of placing Proposition 108 on the same ballot. That proposal cuts property tax assessment rates to 5.7% for residential property and 24% for commercial property. The net effect would be to return property tax bills to their levels of a couple of years ago.
As Advance noted in a news release Friday, Prop. 108 would eliminate most of this year’s massive tax hike while allowing local districts to keep record-breaking revenue collections.
Assuming the proposal’s signatures pass muster with the Secretary of State’s Office, Prop. 108 is likely to prove popular with the voting public, as is Amendment 50.
The effort is popular with some heavyweights in the business community, too. Dave Davia, CEO of influential business-advocacy group Colorado Concern, was quoted in Advance Colorado’s release.
“We have a cost-of-living crisis in Colorado,” Davia said. “Soaring property taxes are crushing homeowners and small businesses while wage growth has barely budged. An increase in revenue for the state does not mean that Coloradans can expect better results or services in return. It’s time for voters to take matters into their own hands.”
Advance also pointed out in the same release that Colorado property tax revenue jumped $2.5 billion — or almost 20% — in 2023, according to state data. Without either of the proposals, Advance notes, statewide property tax collections are expected to reach $20 billion by 2031 and over $30 billion by 2039.
The Legislature had its chance and failed to act. Now, voters will have a chance to give themselves the relief they deserve. And they ought to do just that in the coming election.
Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board
