Raising property taxes on Boulder County residents who lost their homes in the Fourmile Canyon fire last summer hardly seems like appropriate or compassionate public policy.
Yet, because of how Colorado’s property taxes are structured, that’s exactly what would happen if the Boulder County assessor followed the letter of the law.
That shouldn’t be the case, and we’re glad to hear at least one state lawmaker advocating relief in these special circumstances.
The problem is that vacant land is assessed at a rate nearly four times higher than the residential rate. Without a home, the land is technically vacant and not residential.
To be clear, the Boulder County assessor isn’t planning on raising the tax rate for these folks, according to a story in Boulder’s Daily Camera, but he could.
State Rep. Claire Levy is advocating a change in the law so victims of natural disasters would have some time to rebuild their homes before their property is reclassified at the higher rate.
Levy told The Post: “The current law is just too rigid, but I’m not comfortable with the assessor ignoring the statute, even out of compassion.”
We would hope any proposal to redraw statutes to help fire victims would be narrowly tailored to address the intended situations.
The last thing Colorado needs is a loosely written exemption that has the potential to be used for purposes other than those envisioned.
The well-documented abuses of the agricultural tax exemption come to mind. Some landowners have gotten substantial tax breaks by either pretending to engage in farming or ranching activities, or greatly exaggerating those operations.
In vetting any measure offering relief to natural disaster victims, state lawmakers ought to carefully explore how much time homeowners should be given to rebuild their homes before their tax rates jump.
This topic would be properly handled during legislative committee hearings in which assessors, property owners and other interested parties could make their opinions known.
One of the goals should be to set a reasonable time frame that includes appropriate markers. Perhaps property owners could be given a certain amount of time to get a permit, and another deadline for finishing construction.
These are the sorts of nitty-gritty details that must be hammered out before legislation is passed.
Those who lost their homes in the Fourmile Canyon fire last September could use the helping hand. The fire destroyed 169 structures, most of which were homes. At this point, only a handful of property owners have applied for permits to rebuild, according to the Daily Camera.
People who suffer such great losses in fires and other natural disasters should not face a tax penalty, but any attempt to offer assistance must be carefully crafted so it’s good public policy for all Coloradans.
