Judge rejects e ort to block 10-year property tax relief plan

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

An e ort by conservative scal activists and GOP-led counties to block a 10-year property tax plan formed by Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats in the legislature from going before voters in November was denied on June 9 by a Denver judge.

Denver District Court Judge David H. Goldberg found that he didn’t have jurisdiction to consider the case. But he also rejected arguments that Proposition HH violates requirements in the state constitution that ballot measures deal with a single subject and have clear titles.

e plainti s in the lawsuit, led in May, included Advance Colorado, a conservative political nonpro t, and more than a dozen Colorado counties controlled by Republicans. Several GOP county commissioners and Republican current and former politicians also signed onto the legal action.

“Prop. HH undoubtedly violates the single-subject and clear-title provisions in our constitution,” Michael Fields, who leads Advance Colorado, said in a written statement Friday. “We plan to appeal this decision.” e appeal will go directly to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Polis’ o ce said the governor “appreciates the court’s ruling to allow the voters the opportunity to enact Proposition HH as passed by the legislature.” Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, celebrated the ruling.

“I am pleased that the court today agrees that voters should have their say,” Fenberg said in a written statement.

Sen.Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat and an architect of the proposal, calling the ruling “clear and decisive.” e median increase in home values across the state in May when county assessors determined property values was 40% since June 2020, the last time assessors determined property values.

Proposition HH was placed on the November ballot through a bill passed by the legislature in May. It’s meant to respond to massive increases in Coloradans’ property tax bills starting next year caused by a sharp spike in property values.

Here’s how it would work for residential property: e residential assessment rate would be reduced to 6.7% from 6.765% in 2023, for taxes owed in 2024, and to 6.7% from 6.976% for taxes owed in 2025. e 6.7% rate would remain unchanged through the 2032 tax year, for taxes owed in 2033.

• In addition to the assessment rate cuts, residential property owners would get to exempt the rst $50,000 of their home’s value from taxation for the 2023 tax year, a $10,000 increase made through an amendment adopted Monday. Residential property owners would then get to exempt $40,000 of their homes’ values from taxation for the 2024 tax year. e break would persist until the 2032 tax year, except for people’s second or subsequent single-family homes, like rental or vacation properties, which would stop being subject to that bene t in the 2025 tax year.

Here’s how it works for commercial property:

• For commercial properties, the assessment rate would be reduced to 27.85% through 2026, down from 29%. e state would be required to evaluate economic conditions to determine if the rate reduction should continue. If the rate reductions persist, the commercial assessment rate would be reduced to 27.65% in 2027, 26.9% in 2029 and 25.9% starting in 2031.

• For agricultural properties and properties used for renewable energy, the assessment rate would be reduced to 26.4% from 29% through the 2032 tax year. For properties that fall under both classi cations, such as those used for agrivoltaics, the rate would be cut to 21.9%.

How are property taxes calculated?

Property taxes are determined by how much your county assessor values your property, what the state’s property assessment rate is and what your local mill-levy rate is.

A mill is a $1 payment on every $1,000 of assessed value.

Property taxes in Colorado are calculated by multiplying the statewide assessment rate by the value of a property — sometimes referred to as a market value — as determined by a county assessor. at number is then multiplied by the local mill levy rate.

(A mill is a $1 payment on every $1,000 of assessed value. So in order to gure out what your tax bill is you should multiply your mill levy rate by 0.001 and then multiply that number by the product of multiplying your property’s value by the statewide assessment rate. at’s how much you owe.)

So someone who owns a home valued at $600,000 and assessed at a 6.765% statewide residential assessment rate in a place where the mill levy rate is 75 would owe $3,044.25 in taxes each year. e formula to get to that number looks like this: $600,000 x 0.06765 x (75 x 0.001) = $3,044.25.

e proposal would also prevent many local taxing districts from increasing property taxes above the rate of in ation, though school