We didn’t need an election this November to receive a modest property tax reduction. The legislature can cut taxes anytime; it doesn’t need voter approval.
But with Coloradans facing the largest property tax increase of our lifetime due to soaring home prices, the legislature chose to put a massive expansion of government on the ballot disguised as a property tax cut.
Remember this: even if Proposition HH passes, property taxes will still increase. If property values double in the next 10 years, so will property taxes.
The deceptive ballot question asks: “Shall the state reduce property taxes for homes and businesses…” That sounds good, so voters may not read much further. Even if they do, the ballot never explains voting “yes” is agreeing to give up refunds under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) and to permanently increase the cost of state government. Continue reading →
The TABOR Committee welcomed the campaign by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) to oppose Proposition HH.
The organization is the nation’s leading group that represents small business, which includes individual retailers, independent professional practices and others that keep our country’s economy humming. Colorado’s state chapter is at the forefront of the opposition. The NFIB must have a supermajority of its members in order to take a position and all NFIB surveys and ballots must be statistically valid before release. This vote was 9 to 1 to defeat Prop HH! “It’s hard for any group to get such unanimity about even the time of day,” observed TABOR Committee Chairman Penn Pfiffner. “It’s wonderfully overwhelming to see that strong vote from businesses across the state.”
The NFIB has been speaking out against Proposition HH and running radio ads. You can listen to those ads by clicking here.
“We’re calling out Proposition HH for what it really is, a bait-and-switch, offering a temporary property tax cut but undoing TABOR refunds,” said Tony Gagliardi, the Colorado NFIB state director.
Proposition HH is NOTwhat proponents say it is. It is a huge tax increase. It takes your tax refunds already owed back to you but is disguised as a small amount of property tax relief to local governments. It raises State taxes by billions of dollars.
You should be outraged by how it came to get on the ballot. A great thing about the General Assembly is that it allows for views to be shared, citizens to testify in committee, and for important changes to be thoroughly debated. That’s not what happened. The legislation did not go through a proper Committee of Reference, like the Finance Committees in both chambers, as it should have. Also, it was introduced almost at the end of session. Further, reasonable debate was cut off in both chambers so that minority voices were silenced!
Legislators had a duty to follow the right process. Instead, they disrespected the rules and damaged democracy. What they did instead was sneaky and dictatorial. Don’t let them get away with violating your rights! Insist on a new session that conforms to an honest and open process!
PLEASE VOTE “NO” ON PROPOSITION HH this November
Send the legislature back to work for a real solution.
The TABOR Committee is celebrating the decision by the Colorado Special Districts Association to oppose Proposition HH!
Special districts are local governments that provide services such as fire protection and rescue, water, sanitation, hospitals and libraries. The Association represents about 2,600 of the 3,300 plus districts throughout the state.
The Association developed a template for its members to urge a No vote on the November 7th ballot. The template observes that “… Proposition HH will increase the State’s TABOR spending limit, allowing the State to spend billions of dollars more than it did before,” and continues with the alarming note that, if HH passes, then Special Districts will only receive “reimbursements (that) are a small percentage of the billions of dollars more that the State will retain.”
The Association’s statement ends with a clarion call to reject Proposition HH by concluding that “Proposition HH diminishes the ability of (a special district) to provide the vital services, facilities, and infrastructure that the public needs, expects, and demands. Vote NO on Proposition HH at the statewide election on November 7, 2023.”
Colorado voters will be asked in November to vote on Proposition HH. As with most ballot measures, it is written to sound very good and appealing. It starts out, “Shall the State reduce property taxes….” And, of course, like most ballot measures, that’s misleading and the actual text of the measure is complex.
You will, and are already, seeing social media posts and news coverage, and have probably received the first of many mail pieces about Proposition HH. You will be bombarded with numbers and formulas and forecasts. One such piece, designed to “simplify” the measure included the following dollar amounts – in just one piece: $1,074 million; $620 million; $2 billion; $145 million; $72 million; $287 million; $3.5 billion; $21 million; $94.3 million; $2.2 billion; $128 million; $161.3 million; $278 million; $351 million.
So, here’s what it all boils down to. Here are the two sentences that you need to know when you vote your ballot this fall:
1) If Proposition HH passes, it will only temporarily reduce property taxes.
2) If Proposition HH passes, it will reduce your Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds permanently.
That’s it. All that mumbo jumbo, simply explained in two sentences.
Property owners – your property taxes will still go up, just not as drastically, for a limited time.
Renters – your rent will still go up, because your landlord needs to recoup the increase in taxes.
Everybody – your TABOR refunds (remember those $750 or $1,500 checks?) will permanently be decreased and, because of a change in formula, eventually will go away forever.
The Colorado Women’s Alliance urges you to remember those two simple sentences when it comes time to mark your ballots. Vote “no” on Proposition HH.
Many, many thanks for dealing with my City Clerk and Attorney on Thursday, the day before the TABOR con statement noon deadline.
I called the City Clerk mid-Thursday-morning to confirm that the TABOR Con Statement deadline was noon the next day. The City Clerk firmly informed me that City Ballot issue 3K did not warrant TABOR statements. I was incredulous, but reluctantly listened. I politely hung up and promptly called Natalie Menten, who got Sherrie Peif, an investigative reporter, to call the city clerk and city attorney. THREE hours later the City Clerk called me to apologize for having given me incorrect advice. We agreed that the deadline was the next day and 3K was a TABOR issue. The next day I submitted a con statement; thanks to all you’ve done!
Again, thanks; your TABOR Foundation expertise got the CON statement published.
