Colorado’s housing mess is about to get another “bold” idea that somehow always ends with a new tax and a straight face. The Denver Post highlights lawmakers floating a proposal to tax vacant homes in Colorado to pay for affordable housing.
So yes, the plan is to mess with private property to fund a program that will need more funding later, because that is how this movie always ends.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Colorado lawmakers are proposing a tax on vacant homes.
- The stated goal is to generate money for affordable housing.
- It is a statewide idea, not a county-by-county solution.
- It expands government’s reach into how property is used.
- It bets on new revenue and new rules instead of harder, local reforms.
My Bottom Line
A laughable idea. Colorado does not have an affordable housing shortage because we lack taxes. We have it because government keeps stacking rules, delays, and feel-good hurdles like it is an Olympic event.
The government is playing Robin Hood, except the “rich” is anyone who owns something, and the “poor” is whatever program needs cash this week. Rules for thee, exemptions for me, classic.
Yet more nonsense from the ruling democrats in Denver. In the Denver/Boulder Bubble, apparently the solution to every problem is: tax it, regulate it, and then hold a press conference about compassion.
if we punish “vacant,” housing will magically become affordable, and nobody will change behavior, pass costs along, or lawyer up.
If it worked, they wouldn’t need a mandate.
Here’s the fix: stop swinging statewide hammers at local problems. Push zoning and permitting reform that actually speeds up building, cut the red tape that makes projects impossible, and let communities solve their own housing needs without Colorado turning into a permanent revenue hunt. If they want to sell this idea, show me the numbers, show me who pays, and show me what gets cut when the tax fails to deliver.
Source: The Denver Post
