DENVER – As property taxes continue to skyrocket, the Senate Republicans are actively working to provide relief for the people of Colorado, while Senate Democrats remain preoccupied with engaging in partisan politics.
Today, Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee killed Senator Van Winkle’s and Senator Baisley’s bill that aimed at addressing Colorado’s continually increasing property taxes. Senate Bill 24-144 would have simply capped any annual property tax increases at 6%. A recent study conducted by the non-partisan Common Sense Institute concluded that property owners in Colorado can expect their property taxes to increase by as high as 25% this year, even after last November’s special legislative session.
“By reeling in annual property tax increases, Colorado families would have been able to rest easy knowing they won’t go bankrupt when their taxes come due,” Senator Van Winkle said. “Thanks to the Democrats’ refusal to cooperate with us, I fear there will be Colorado families who will now be priced out of their homes. We offered a very simple solution that would have provided real relief for Coloradans, but the Democrats opted to put politics over people. I am extraordinarily disappointed that they killed this bill.”
“The issue of property taxes is not going to go away any time soon, and it doesn’t need to be as complicated as the Democrats are making it out to be,” Senator Baisley said. “Colorado families cannot afford these astronomical tax increases, and they certainly can’t afford the lackluster solutions my Democrat colleagues are offering. We could have ended the property tax crisis right here and now had the Democrats supported this very simple bill.”
Senate Bill 24-144 represents just one of the many attempts Colorado Senate Republicans have made to ease tax burdens for Coloradans over the past year.
During last year’s special legislative session, Joint Budget Committee member Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R – Weld County) spearheaded the Senate GOP’s flagship tax relief bill, Senate Bill 23B-004, which would have decreased the taxable value of property, expanded the rate reduction by roughly four times the Democrats proposal, and included nonresidential property tax relief. Senator Van Winkle also ran a bill, Senate Bill 23B-006, which would have capped annual assessment rate increases at 6%, exactly as Senate Bill 24-144 would have done. Both bills were killed by Democrats on the first day of the special session on a party-line committee vote.
During last year’s regular session, Senator Lundeen ran Senate Bill 23-080, which would have allowed parents to claim a tax credit for volunteering in their child’s school. Senate Bill 23-106, sponsored by Senator Bob Gardner (R – Colorado Springs), would have indefinitely extended a tax credit for Colorado veterans. Senator Liston’s Senate Bill 23-107 would have extended a current property tax exemption to seniors and disabled veterans who have to change residencies due to medical necessity. All three bills were killed by Democrats.
Senate Bill 23-108, championed by Senator Baisley, established a tax credit mechanism allowing for local governments to temporarily reduce property taxes. The bill was passed and signed into law.
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