The proposed repeal of the Gallagher Amendment —Referendum B on the November ballot — is an important question for fiscally conservative Republicans such as me.

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Amendment B socks it to homeowners

I strongly support our TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) law that has done so much to restrain the growth, cost and scope of state and local government for the past 28 years. And it requires a vote of the people to approve new tax increases.

I strongly support Proposition 117 which would require a vote on “fees” that exceed $100 million in the first five years. Democratic legislative majorities have undermined TABOR by their new strategy of defining tax increases as “fees” in order to deny the people the right to vote which certainly violates the spirit and the letter of the TABOR law.

I strongly support Proposition 116 which would reduce the state income tax from 4.67 percent to 4.55 percent.

And I believe the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment is necessary to keep the property tax burden from dramatically increasing on our small businesses, farms and ranches.

When Gallagher was passed by voters in 1982, homeowners and small businesses were under assault with dramatically increasing property taxes. The amendment stabilized and protected homeowners. But as Colorado has changed, small businesses — especially in rural Colorado — are now dramatic losers under the Gallagher Amendment.

That is because Gallagher’s outdated mechanisms have taken-on an almost punitive approach to taxing local businesses. Under Gallagher, 20% of the total property value in the state — that is, the property that belongs to small businesses, manufacturers, shops and restaurant owners — has to pay 55% of the total property tax bill. How can 20% of the taxable property account for 55% of total property tax? Higher taxes, that is how.

Gallagher’s burdened small businesses for many years, but in the midst of COVID-caused shutdown, the one-way ratchet of higher taxes on local job creators is especially cruel. If Gallagher is not repealed, property taxes will be a nail in the coffin of many small businesses.

Repeal of Gallagher would freeze residential property assessments at their current rates for both homeowners and businesses. Those tax rates cannot be increased without a vote of the people as required under our TABOR law. This is why Amendment B is a responsible solution — if B passes, the formulas in Gallagher that punish business will be gone, while the tax rates that have given Colorado the third-lowest property taxes in the nation stay the same.

Defenders of Gallagher characterize the proposed repeal as a tax increase because residential property would go down to 5.88 percent if the amendment remains law. But the share of property taxes paid by small businesses, farms and ranches— which are already under tremendous pressure due to the pandemic and the continued assault by the Democratic-controlled state legislature with new regulations and expensive new mandates — would dramatically increase.

Is it fair to demand that our hardworking small business owners, farmers and ranchers carry even more of the state’s property tax burden, especially now? These folks are the backbone of our state’s economy and they are already under assault from increasing state and national regulatory burdens and expensive new mandates.

There is no doubt that current and future Democratic governors and legislators will continue their assault on TABOR. This will be an ongoing fight for fiscal conservatives who do not want our state to become California or New York.

But repeal of the Gallagher Amendment transcends that fundamental fiscal battle. Colorado’s small business owners, farmers and ranchers deserve to be treated more equitably under our tax laws.

I encourage my fellow Republicans to support the repeal of the outdated and unfair Gallagher Amendment. Please vote “Yes” on Amendment B.

Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman who managed campaigns for Gov. Bill Owens and U.S. Sens. Hank Brown and Wayne Allard.