Dear Editor,Colorado property tax revenue has soared 164 percent since TABOR passed. The 2008 cost was about $6.4 billion. That equals over $5,000 per average family of four in direct and indirect property taxes. Business taxes are passed onto customers in higher prices.Apart from high taxes, the system is a mess. You can now vote on property taxes on your residence only, not taxes on your vacant lot, condo or business elsewhere. Even where you live, you can now petition on city taxes only. Governments charge you fees you can’t vote on. They raise taxes without the proper voter approval. Their tax increases seldom expire.Private business faces unfair competition from government-owned ones that pay no property tax. Unelected boards impose property taxes in violation of the great cry of the American Revolution, “No taxation without representation!”Current assessments don’t reflect the mid-2008 real estate crash, so we’ll pay taxes for the next two years on non-existent values. Property taxes for many seniors will double next year.Unfair taxes depress the Colorado economy, burden our families and jeopardize our homes. We have a legal right and a moral duty to defend the American Dream.To learn more, see our Web site, www.LimitPropertyTax.com. Then contact us to collect 100 signatures on our half-page Property Tax Amendment. The PTA is your only chance to reform our state’s arbitrary and unfair property taxes. Support the PTA!Bonnie Solan of Black HawkLouis J. Schroeder of Greenwood Village303-770-2128
