Free Republic

We’ll say it again now that Gov. Jared Polis has inked his purported “relief” for soaring property taxes: His plan is largely an illusion. Ignore the stagecraft of Wednesday’s signing ceremony for Senate Bill 23-303. It was a nice publicity stunt — the governor and assorted lawmakers turning up at the home of a Commerce City resident who supposedly would benefit. It was all sleight of hand. As we noted here only weeks ago, the Polis plan is as if someone offered to help you pay your bills — then reached into your pocket, grabbed your wallet, pulled out some...

Suppose someone offers to help you pay your bills — then reaches into your pocket, grabs your wallet, pulls out some money and hands it to you. That’s more or less what Gov. Jared Polis and his Democratic allies who run the Legislature have in mind in promising “relief” for Coloradans facing skyrocketing property taxes. Unveiled by the governor at a Monday news conference and introduced the same day in the Legislature as Senate Bill 23-303, the complicated proposal would ask voters on next November’s statewide ballot to pay for a large part of their own property-tax relief. That’s right;...

If you’ve opened your property tax assessment you’ve already had your coronary. Your property value has gone up between 30% and 70%.. That means because the Legislature, under Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter, froze mill levy rates (preventing them from lowering) and because voters foolishly repealed the Gallagher Amendment in 2020, your property taxes are going to go up some 30% to 70% next year. But don’t worry. The same people who have put you in this bind are going to pantomime rescuing you just as the clock runs out on their legislative session. What heroes. The Colorado state Legislature, with...

Homeowners across Colorado are bracing themselves for a hefty increase in their property tax bills. This is the year county assessors re-value homes and properties. On Wednesday, those assessors warned homeowners that the values are increasing from 30% to more than 60% in some counties. ... "The fact is that there is no reprieve for homeowners this year. From corner to corner of Douglas County and probably the state, all values have gone up quite significantly. If it's rural, if it's suburban, if it's large, if it's small, if it's expensive or inexpensive, all properties in Douglas County in the...

With less than a month left of the legislative session, Gov. Polis has yet to put forth any plan to prevent a looming bloodbath and cap residential property tax increases as he promised when voters repealed the Gallagher amendment. Republicans put forth their own plan to cap expected spikes of 40-50% to just five or ten percent over the next several years. But Democrats were ordered to kill those efforts and await the arrival of their hero governor, who would surely swoop in and save the day just in time for his planned 2024 presidential run. Yet the clock is...

The entire Colorado tax structure and its effect on business solvency and growth will be the subject of a forum to be held in Denver ... Aug. 13. Hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado, the leading representative group in America for the biggest job generators - small businesses ... The forum is open to all Colorado small-business owners. A panel of guests includes House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and ... "Colorado tax structure is the creation of three often competing entities - citizen initiatives, special interests and the Legislature," Gagliardi said. "This has led to the current crazy quilt...