Taxes and Their Consequences: Economic Policy, Property Tax Relief, and Education Reform

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, Kim Monson tackled property taxes from multiple angles, welcoming economic historian Dr. Brian Domitrovic to debate Proposition HH, Lakewood City Councilwoman Mary Janssen to discuss her fight for mill levy reduction, and Colorado Springs D11 School Board President Parth Melpakam to share his district’s remarkable academic turnaround. Property Tax Policy and Proposition HH Start listening at 42:51 – Hour 1 Brian Domitrovic, economic historian and co-author of Taxes Have Consequences with Art Laffer, breaks down the debate over Colorado’s Proposition HH. Domitrovic explains that while the proposition purports to lower property taxes, the underlying policy mechanics deserve scrutiny. He argues that Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, while containing positive elements requiring voter approval for tax increases and debt, fundamentally operates as a universal basic income scheme through its rebate system rather than achieving meaningful rate cuts. Domitrovic contends that keeping tax rates high while rebating surpluses represents one of the worst forms of tax policy. He points to the Rust Belt as a cautionary tale of populations fleeing high-tax jurisdictions. The economist offers perspective on the $1.7 trillion federal deficit, calling Bidenomics a failure and advocating for a return to 2019 conditions with a growing labor force and economic growth near 3 percent. “It’s not a cut in tax rates, and it’s one of the worst forms of tax policy, which is a tax rebate. They keep tax rates high and then rebate the surplus. It’s one of the worst kinds of tax policies you can have. You have to cut tax rates, not have high rates with rebates.” Brian Domitrovic, Economic Historian Lakewood City Council Fights Property Tax Windfall Start listening at 80:39 – Hour 2 Mary Janssen, Lakewood City Councilwoman and co-owner of Janssen Photography, drove to the studio to share the results of Monday night’s city council meeting where she proposed a significant mill levy reduction. Janssen calculated that without action, Lakewood would receive a $3 million windfall on top of its normal budget due to property valuation increases. Janssen proposed dropping the mill levy from 4.711 to 3.85, nearly a 20 percent decrease. While her motion was amended down to 4.28, the compromise still saved taxpayers approximately $1.5 million. She notes that none of her fellow council members reached out to support her proposal before the meeting, revealing the resistance to returning money to taxpayers. Janssen also raised concerns about a proposed 400-unit apartment complex threatening to cut down 69 mature trees near a park, warning about inadequate parking of only 1.5 spaces per unit. “So the numbers were all weird when they kind of proposed what they were going to do in the budget. And I said, this isn’t right. They were about 24%. It was like a $3 million windfall on top of what they were projecting. So I was like, well, that’s a lot of money. So that’s what got us thinking, hey, we need to lower the mill levy to even this out because that’s just too much money.” Mary Janssen, Lakewood City Councilwoman Colorado Springs D11 Education Turnaround Start listening at 64:25 – Hour 2 Parth Melpakam, School Board President for Colorado Springs District 11, shares his district’s remarkable academic improvement. Born in India where education was the pathway out of poverty, Melpakam...