Every now and again a little resident good economic sense is exhibited, calling for moments of celebration. One such moment happened last week in Jefferson County, where the Board of Commissioners decided, on a 2-1 vote, to do away with the business personal property tax.

As reforms go it is a modest one – the elimination only applies to the county’s portion of its BPPT payable to its general fund, and does not apply to other funds, such as special districts, libraries, and school districts – which is not to say it is insignificant. The business personal property tax is one of the more inequitable tax schemes ever devised, which is remarkable given its competition. BPPT is levied, annually in perpetuity, on virtually everything a business owns that can be moved, making it particularly onerous to capital-intensive businesses like manufacturing, bio-science, and aerospace. It is also inflicted without regard to profit or loss, and in additionto any sales or use tax paid on the property; and, of course, on top of the taxes paid on the property that can’tbe moved (real-estate).

Economically, BPPT is counter-productive, representing as it does a considerable barrier to investment. Thanks in large part to the BPPT, Colorado has the dubious distinction of being ranked the 10th-highest tax state for manufacturing businesses. Personal property, by definition, can be moved, and it often is – out of high tax jurisdictions and into lower tax ones. The converse holds true as well, that businesses are stubbornly unlikely to move themselves and their capital to places where that capital will be subjected to higher taxes.

Efforts at the state legislature to repeal it in recent years have consistently fallen short, leaving places like Jefferson County, eager to not only attract more businesses but retain those they have, with the unenviable task of convincing companies to establish themselves here instead of one of the 40 states that will impose less of a tax burden on them for doing so.

So Jefferson County decided that some unilateral action was in order. Kristi Pollard, the talented and resourceful president and CEO of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, earlier this month presented a proposal to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners to credit the county general fund portion of the BPPT. Commissioners Libby Szabo and Tina Francone quickly embraced the idea and on Sept. 18, Jefferson became the first county in the Denver metro area to eliminate the tax.

What will happen in Jefferson County now? Well for starters, Mrs. Pollard points out that something on the order of 8,500 companies will save money. Most of those are small businesses, which account for the vast majority of the county’s BPPT revenue (86 percent of capital-intensive manufacturing businesses there employ fewer than 20 people) and do not qualify for tax breaks enacted at the state level intended to incentivize expansion.

Not everyone was convinced, mind. The lone holdout, Commissioner Casey Tighe, voiced concerns over what he sees as a $7 million cost to the government. What he struggles to see is the corollary, that the $7 million which fuels his nightmares will be reinvested and generate a greater return through growth. Several local business owners testified as to how the move would enable them to make new capital purchases and other investments. His criticism, of course, also serves to cultivate the superstition that the money in question belongs to the government, not the businesses from which it is exacted.

Jefferson County’s approach is refreshing, to say the least, and will pay dividends handsomely and in due course. It is in stark relief to what seems to be the de rigeur manner of addressing economic issues in the state, and particularly in Denver. Far from dedicating any energy to reducing their tax burden, Denver’s ballot will sport no fewer than four initiatives to raise taxes in the city for a laundry list of purposes. This of course is in addition to two state-wide ballot proposals to increase taxes, including a measure to not only raise the state income tax, but to reintroduce the fiscally inimical progressivity function.

Such news makes one ever more grateful for the occasional sunbursts that emerge, here and there, from places like Jefferson County. We do indeed have a few for which to be thankful: the federal tax cuts are continuing their stimulative work; at the state level, efforts are underway, led by Representative Tracy Kraft-Tharp and Senator Tim Neville, to smooth out the anfractuosity of the state’s labyrinthian sales and use tax system; and now the good news from Jefferson County, which may offer a welcoming safe haven for businesses that Denver seems intent on trying to repel.