Proposition HH is being packaged and peddled to the voting public as “property tax relief.” It is in fact a massive tax hike – in the guise of tax relief. Lipstick on a pig.

That’s why many Coloradans are calling it “bait and shaft” – and it’s why we strongly recommend a “NO” vote on the measure on this fall’s ballot when it arrives in the mail this week.

Stay up to speed: Sign-up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

In the months since the Legislature voted to send the dubious and deceptive Prop. HH to voters, leading policy voices have sounded the alarm on these pages about what the proposal really would do if enacted. And we have weighed in here on numerous occasions, as well.

Let’s boil it all down to 10 sound reasons to vote “NO” on Prop. HH:

1. It’s a ripoff. Prop. HH lowers the statewide assessment rate on property for 10 years. Yet, it grabs billions of dollars in surplus revenue collected by the state that otherwise would have to be refunded to taxpayers under the state constitution. Colorado’s Common Sense Institute projected the average two-taxpayer household faces a $5,119 cut in refunds over the next decade if HH passes while a median-priced home would see $4,641 lower property tax bills. If lawmakers extend the tax grab another 10 years, as allowed by HH, Coloradans would give up $42.4 billion – nearly double any property tax relief.

2. It’s a shell game. The public is being asked to vote for property tax “relief” – and then to give up their tax refunds to pay for it. It’s a classic scam.

3. It’s property-tax relief lite – at best. Any relief won’t come close to offsetting the soaring property taxes that could rise 50% for some homeowners when tax bills go out next spring.

4. It’s a windfall – for state government. Only a fraction of the refunds the state keeps under HH will be used to backfill local governments for any shortfall in property-tax revenue due to HH’s temporarily lower assessment rates. The rest will go into state coffers to engorge government.

5. It guts the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, in the state constitution limits budget growth by government and requires refunds of any revenue collected over the limit. If HH passes, Common Sense Institute concludes, “There are numerous scenarios under which Proposition HH would eliminate TABOR refunds entirely.”

6. It was drafted in secrecy. Ruling Democrats at the legislature hatched the plan with the Governor’s Office behind close doors and then fast-tracked the bill to place the measure on the November ballot.

7. It might be unconstitutional. HH has so many moving parts it might violate state constitutional provisions limiting ballot proposals to a single subject. But because HH was placed on the ballot by the Legislature rather than as a citizens initiative that gathered signatures, a court won’t be able to assess its constitutionality until and unless it is adopted by voters. So ruled the Colorado Supreme Court last summer.

8. It’s bad for small business. A survey in August by the National Federation of Independent Business-Colorado found 90% of small-biz proprietors oppose HH.

9. It won’t lower the rent. Because property values – and property taxes – continue to soar, the cost inevitably will continue to be passed on to tenants.

10. It’s a convoluted mess. It adjusts statewide property tax assessment rates. It withholds TABOR refunds. It backfills local governments and vests them with certain additional powers over setting mill levies. The list goes on; it’s enough to leave you cross-eyed.

Which is to say if voters are left scratching their heads over this dizzyingly complex proposal, it’s reason enough to vote “NO” on Proposition HH.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board