Thanks to TABOR, Some Colorado Counties Can’t Reap Benefits of Historic Property Values

Property values across the state have skyrocketed, prompting counties and municipalities that aren’t restricted by Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights to lick their chops at the prospect of collecting more taxes this year.

But what about the places that aren’t exempt from TABOR?

In Arapahoe County and Jefferson County, for instance, property values may be going up at an unprecedented rate — with median residential increases reported at 36.5 percent and 42 percent, respectively — but the amount of tax money that the counties get to spend is capped because of TABOR, the constitutional amendment pushed by real estate investor and California import Douglas Bruce that was designed to limit the revenue that the state and local governments can retain and was passed by Colorado voters in…