VICTORY FOR GOLD STAR SPOUSES!

AMENDMENT E APPROVED BY 88% OF COLORADO VOTERS!

In a sweeping victory for the United Veterans of Colorado and Gold Star Spouses, voters approved amending the Colorado Constitution Article X Section 3.5 to extend the partial property tax exemption to Gold Star Spouses.

 Several years of efforts, of resolutions passed by the American Legion, leadership of the UVC and patience of the Gold Star spouses themselves, all finally came to the best possible resolution – not only passed as required with 55% of the voters approving, but by an overwhelming 88%.

How'd that Colorado Senate vote go for Gold Star Wives' property tax exemption?

June 7 2021: HOW DID COLORADO STATE SENATORS VOTE TO PERMIT GOLD STAR WIDOWS THE SAME PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION COLORADO GIVES DISABLED VETS' WIDOWS? One Guess.

   DEMOCRATS = 100% NO              GOP = 100% YES

Interesting. And very, very  revealing. Every senator* who voted "YES" to honor our Gold Star Wives with SJR21-010 in May seemed to see things differently on June 7, and voted "NO" on HCR21-1002.

Thumbs down on spending $93,000 to permit these 140 widows of active-duty troops same small partial property tax exemption Colorado now gives survivors of our 100% disabled veterans.

Here are their empty words from SJR21-010 tossed to the wind, now shown to be useless and meaningless:

"That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly honor the pride and the pain of the parents and partners and children and siblings of our fallen heroes and recognize the families of these proud patriots with an expression of profound gratitude and respect."

* voting no:

• • State Sen. Julie Gonzales 
  D District 34, Chair

• 
  

• • State Sen. James Coleman
  D District 33, Vice Chair
  
  • State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis
  D District 17
  
  
  
  
  
  

THE BIG PROBLEM: How to pay for TDIU Vets Getting the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption

 There's no getting around the biggest obstacle to any Colorado veterans benefit – just where the heck do we get the money to pay for it?

In Colorado's state house that is the Number One question on every bill. Trying to get the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption to cover VA 100% permanent Total Disability for Individual Unemployability (TDIU) vets will be no different. 

I don't know the necessary procedures but will float a couple ideas here. First, the goal is to get the exemption for approximately 4622 veterans now rated 100% disabled TDIU by the VA. That's approximately $2.6 million added to the overall Homestead Exemption program costing over $159 million. 

Currently, veterans and their survivors are only 2% of that total with the exemption restricted to VA 100% schedular vets, so adding TDIU will make veterans just under 4% of the program. The number of vets that I use already considers the fact that 13.3% are also able to claim the senior exemption, and already factors in the point that 80% of all the Colorado TDIU vets own homes to exempt. Finally, the average value of each exemption is considered, leaving the goal at $2.6 million.

The Legislature needs to appreciate that voters already approved every 100% disabled veteran for the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption. The wording of Referendum E in 2006 was very clear, as was the explanation in the Blue Book. It was the legislators, not the voters, who opted with the enabling legislation for Article X Section 3.5 to invent the unemployability barrier. We need to.get our tax laws back into line with the state constitution!

– POSSIBILITIES –

1. Cut the average veteran and survivor exemption benefit in half to stretch the present funding to include TDIU recipients. The Legislature already has the power to do this per Article X Section 3.5 of the state constitution

2.  Likewise, reduce the benefit to each senior homestead exemption to capture $2.6M. This would be a much less severe reduction for the recipients than #1 above, approximately 0.02 for about just $11 less per year per exemption

3. Divert a portion of the funds CDMVA now uses for grants

3.  Add an optional $5 contribution to each state income tax return

4. Divert $2.6M from Colorado Economic Development Commission

5. Ideas??