Colorado heavy hitters back ballot measure to cut and cap property taxes permanently
Some of the most powerful business and political leaders in Colorado are banding together to head off a historic property tax spike.
The unlikely coalition includes some of the biggest supporters and opponents of Proposition HH. They've filed initial paperwork for a ballot measure that would permanently cut and cap property taxes in Colorado starting next year.
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"I would love to never have to talk about property taxes again," says Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado -- a conservative group that's championed numerous tax relief measures. He's leading the effort with Dave Davia, president and CEO of Colorado Concern -- the state's largest association of CEOs.
For years, the two have been on opposing sides of every major tax measure to go before voters. Now, for the first time, they are teaming up on a measure that would cap any increase in property tax revenue at 4% year over year and adjust the state assessment rate accordingly. For residential property, the rate would drop to at least 5.7% and homeowners could deduct $55,000 from the taxable value of their homes. For commercial property, the rate would be cut to 25.5%. The measure also calls for the legislature to provide some level of backfill for local governments and special districts and specifically protects the state education fund.
"We care about teachers, we care about firefighters, we care about local governments and we believe this is a fair and balanced approach," says Davia. The initiative, he says, would save $236 a year on a $300,000 home. It comes as a property tax commission meets to develop a recommendation for lawmakers.
Fields says he's open to hearing the commission's idea, but he says he's not optimistic given the legislature's history of providing temporary relief.
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"The fact that they've already allowed them to spike 30% or 40% this year makes me concerned about it. I think the governor has been clear that he wants a cap, that he wants to make sure that property taxes are under control. It's the legislators who haven't stepped up and done that yet," he said. "We've polled this stuff and it polls very high. I think we can- I know we can win this if we put it on the ballot. The question is, 'what's best for Colorado?' and I think the current system is not what's best for Colorado."
Fields and Davia say the ballot measure would roll property taxes back to near 2022 levels starting next year. Instead of local governments and special districts seeing a $3 billion increase in tax revenue, they would receive closer to $2 billion.
A spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis says he is waiting to see what the Property Tax Commission produces, but Davia and Fields can't wait due to ballot deadlines. They say their initiative has the backing of business and civic leaders on both sides of the aisle and they are confident they will make the 2024 ballot.
