EDITORIAL: Let’s defeat HH — then really cut property taxes
We’re not the first to call for a special legislative session to lower property taxes. But we’ll gladly lend our editorial voice to the chorus. And let’s convene it soon. Right after Coloradans reject Proposition HH’s tax hike camouflaged as a temporary tax cut in next week’s election.
Our state’s homeowners — who face massive increases in their property tax bills next spring amid soaring real estate values all along the Front Range — deserve real relief, not HH’s smoke and mirrors. However the state goes about it, it shouldn’t force taxpayers to pay for it out of their own pockets as HH clearly does.
A special session, declared by Gov. Jared Polis, certainly seems like a good way to take up the task. Hold it in December — before the usual drama and distractions of the regular session, which convenes in January. Waiting for the Legislature to act on its own without the mandate of a special session is a dead end in any event. Consider that it was the previous regular session that placed the disingenuous HH on this fall’s ballot.
To recap just for the record, the complicated and convoluted Prop. HH is, among its many fundamental flaws:
A ripoff for rank-and-file taxpayers because it could grab up to $42.4 billion in surplus revenue collected by the state over the next 20 years, money that otherwise would have to be refunded to taxpayers. That’s nearly double any property tax relief under HH.
A shell game because the public is being asked to vote for property tax “relief” but would have to give up their tax refunds to pay for it.
A windfall of play money for the state government — its true motive — because only a fraction of the refunds the state keeps under HH will be shared with affected local governments.