Colorado seniors still could get a partial break on their property taxes the next two years — rather than nothing — under a House proposal that must still survive Senate review.
The original version of Senate Bill 190 would have eliminated for two years the Senior Homestead Exemption, which exempts from property taxes the first $200,000 of the value of a senior’s home, provided they have lived there at least 10 years. Faced with deep budget shortfalls, the state last year eliminated the tax break for one year, saving $90 million, and zeroing it out over the next two years would save the state $188.1 million.
But House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, amended the bill on the House floor Tuesday to give seniors a tax break on the first $50,000 worth of their home’s value. He said the change, which won overwhelming support from his colleagues, will cost the state about $28 million.
“It seems to me that we’re giving tax breaks left and right to corporations,” Weissmann said. “We might as well give a break to seniors. You put money in seniors’ hands, it’s spent.”
The bill has always been part of a package of measures to help balance the budget. Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, a member of the Joint Budget Committee and the sponsor of the bill, didn’t like the House changes.
“I believe that would put us significantly out of balance,” White said.
Weissmann acknowledged that possibility but said there are other bills that could help make up for the shortfall still to be voted on.
One of the legislature’s strongest champions for seniors, Greeley Democrat Rep. Jim Riesberg, spoke out against the amendment, saying that suspending the homestead exemption was important to balancing the budget and that Weissmann’s amendment would amount to a $10-a-month boon to Coloradans 65 years old or older.
Like many critics of the tax break, Riesberg pointed out that the tax break benefits all seniors regardless of their income level.
“They can live in a million-dollar mansion,” Riesberg said. “For all of those who think that we’re protecting seniors, if this bill does not pass, then the things we will have to take out of the budget will hit them a whole lot more than this.”
If the amendment remains on the bill, seniors will pay only half the taxes on the first $50,000 of value on their homes. Seniors who can’t pay their taxes can already seek relief from their local treasurers.
The House initially approved the bill on a voice vote and must give it final consideration. The Senate can either accept the changes or seek a conference committee on them.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
