Property tax documents from the City and County of Denver. (Colorado Newsline)
Months after Colorado lawmakers cut property tax rates in response to a sharp rise in home values across the state, two deep-pocketed conservative groups are joining forces behind a 2024 ballot measure that aims to slash rates further and put a cap on future increases.
In an announcement Monday, Colorado Concern, an influential business group governed by a board of Colorado-based corporate executives and wealthy Republican donors, said it would back a property tax measure closely resembling the one first proposed last year by Advance Colorado, a so-called “dark money” nonprofit that has spent millions in recent years to influence state elections but is not required to disclose its donors.
The measure would slash the residential assessment rate, a statewide figure used to calculate property taxes in different local jurisdictions, from 7.15% to 5.7%. For commercial and industrial property, the assessment rate would fall from 29% to 25.5%. The measure would also limit future increases in property tax revenue to less than 4% annually, requiring local governments to seek voter approval in order to retain any revenue in excess of that limit.