Real relief for Colorado taxpayers is on the way – but not from the phony Proposition HH that’s on the ballot. Instead, on the horizon is a 4% property tax cap already proving to be very popular.

Coloradans are so hungry for a rescue from our property tax crisis we gathered 172,231 valid signatures in just 57 days to put Initiative 50 on next year’s ballot (tax cuts can only be placed on the ballot in even-numbered years).

The problem we are trying to address is clear: Colorado taxpayers are in sticker shock over the 30% to 40% property tax increase coming their way. They want real tax relief, such as an enforceable property tax cap,  not the sham Proposition HH on the ballot this year.

There’s no way to sugar coat the massive tax hit family budgets will take across Colorado. Just because people’s homes go up in value, that doesn’t mean they have more money in their pockets to pay for higher taxes. The legislature could have stepped up and cut the huge spike in residential assessments. Instead, they chose to put the flawed and dishonest Proposition HH on the ballot, exploiting the real anxiety Coloradans are facing.

But just a scratch below the surface of HH shows it is not the kind of significant, lasting local tax relief taxpayers are hoping for.

What HH does is offer a relatively modest, short-term tax reduction at the cost of refunds you are entitled to under the state Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).  Proposition HH eventually ends these refunds altogether – and guts a big portion of TABOR tax spenders have been targeting for 30 years.

That’s not tax relief.

Defeating HH is not the end of the effort to repair Colorado’s property tax system. It’s just the beginning. Help is on the way.

Initiative 50 is simple and straightforward. It’s the solution Colorado taxpayers need.

Here’s how it works.

Increases in statewide property tax revenue would be capped at 4% unless voters allow the government to keep more, in a statewide vote.

Why 4%?

We looked at the average inflation rate over the past 30 years, which is 3%. And wage growth over the past 15 years has also averaged 3%. This means growth in government funding will keep pace with inflation while being sensitive to the income growth of tax-paying Coloradans.

Of course, the number one question on the minds of taxpayers is how to meaningfully address the massive increase they are facing now. If Gov. Jared Polis and the legislature won’t help, then we will also run another measure to reset the property assessment base before the 4% cap is implemented.

Like TABOR, Initiative 50 empowers voters to make key decisions about government funding.

Coloradans support TABOR because it forces the government to make the case to raise taxes or retain additional revenue. The same would be the case with our 4% property tax cap. It means you will decide whether government gets an extra raise, not politicians. It’s no wonder our polling shows Initiative 50 is an overwhelmingly popular idea.

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As any family or small business knows, budget predictability is essential. Nobody likes surprises, especially a 30% to 40% property tax increase. Big bills like that can tax some people right out of their homes.

With the 4% solution, property owners – of homes or businesses – will be permanently protected against a tax tsunami.

But because Initiative 50 puts a reasonable, reality-based cap on the ability of government to grow local tax revenue, get ready for the tax spenders to howl.

That’s what they did in the early 1990s when citizens proposed TABOR. Back then, just the idea of reasonable limitation on government growth, and allowing citizens to have direct control over tax increases, caused opponents to claim Colorado would be “closed for business.”  They even sought to scare voters by saying the state wouldn’t be able to afford to protect the Pope when he came to our state in 1993.

As we know, TABOR passed and the Pope came and went safely, and this highly effective component of our Constitution remains deeply popular among Coloradans across the political spectrum.

It is time to take the next common-sense step forward and put in place a responsible cap on property taxes that puts the needs of taxpayers ahead of the never-ending appetites of tax spenders.

Michael Fields is president of Advance Colorado Action, an issue advocacy organization that believes in a smaller, more accountable government.