Republican Leaders Unveil Their Real and Honest Property Tax Relief Plans
for Colorado Taxpayers for Special Session
(Colorado State Capitol, November 15, 2023) -- Today, leaders of the House Minority Caucus along with their counterparts in the Senate Minority Caucus, unveiled their plan for real and clean property tax relief for the upcoming special session.
The Republican plan consist of two bills, one starting in the House of Representatives sponsored by House Minority Leader Mike Lynch (R-Wellington) and Senator Byron Pelton (R-Sterling) and the other starting in the Senate and sponsored by Senator Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County) and Assistant House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese (R-Colorado Springs).
The plan provides almost $1.4 billion dollars in property tax relief for citizens while supporting our local governments that provide essential services to our communities and rely on property taxes to fund their budgets. The plan also convenes a Property Tax Task Force with members of local government and legislators with previous local government experience to determine long-term and sustainable solutions for property tax.
The House bill differs slightly from the Senate bill in that it includes a reduction in income tax to 4.0% so that our hard-working families can keep their money instead of relying on the state government to give them back their refunds without political games.
“We have gone to great lengths to get local government associations and other stakeholders involved in the process while remaining focused on delivering real property tax relief,” said Rep. Lynch. “We have shared our plan with the Democrats and hope they are sincere in bridging the divide and bringing real property tax relief to the people of Colorado,” added Lynch.
“The legislature needs to trust and honor the will of the voters and not touch our TABOR refunds. Taxpayers should not have to buy their own property tax relief and our plan ensures they will not have to,” Rep. Pugliese explained.
"We live in one of the most expensive states in the nation. Coloradans like my 93-year-old neighbor, or the young couple in their first home or the single mom who is worried about putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table for her kids need real tax relief now, more than the state needs to sit on $2.3 billion dollars in their coffers,” shared Sen. Kirkmeyer.
“It is vital we get folks who actually have local government experience a seat at the table in figuring out property tax relief,” said Sen. Pelton. “Our Task Force is designed to not only give the local government representatives the majority of votes in recommendations given to the state but also hear from those who have actually collected and run their government on property taxes, not legislators who have never been a part of the process. The state has no business in decision making on property taxes, when it doesn’t impact them. Partisanship got us in this mess, it's not going to get us out,” Pelton added.
