Colorado should have something like Prop 13 in California. It limits property taxes.
They should be real familiar with that, since half of them are from there.
Let's talk about that. My question is when they were paying those property taxes, where did that money go, and who had control over how that money was spent?
My assertion is that lowering local property taxes, means that the State ends up picking up the slack, and along with that increases the power of the State over the localities.
I would rather pay more taxes locally, where I have more say over how the money is spent, than at the State and Federal level.
Prop 13 was definitely needed in its day—the elderly were often unable to pay their reassessed property taxes on modest homes they had lived in for decades.
However it has created a “two class” system of old homeowners and new ones—and of course created a strong motivation for folks to stay where they are instead of moving—for any reason.
Another untold story is how many dead people are still “alive” in their houses which are actually lived in by family members.
New York City has the same issue with rent control—there are stunning incentives not to report a relative’s death.
The issues cannot be dealt with until/unless they are openly discussed.
“Colorado should have something like Prop 13 in California. It limits property taxes.”
Colorado has TABOR, but it isn’t the tax rate that is the problem, it is the assessed value of the property. Properties increased in value more than double over the past 10 years or so.
Colorado should have less California refugees. That's the real problem.