If you thought Halloween was scary, let me add one of the scariest things that is happening in our state government. Here is a quick summary:

On October 31st, the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy voted 4-2 to advance a bill to the upcoming legislative session which proposes that if a home is rented short-term for more than 90 days, it will be considered commercial ‘lodging property’ and taxed as such.  Lodging property has an assessment rate of 27.9%, a rate more than four times as high as residential property. This potential change threatens the economic well-being of residents and communities statewide that heavily rely on tourism. Your voice is essential in making our lawmakers understand the potentially devastating consequences of this bill.

The Colorado Lodging and Resort Alliance (CLARA) is spearheading the effort to fight this bill.  They are able to represent the vacation rental industry as a unified voice and they have the partnerships and tools in place to be impactful moving forward with this discussion. Please consider donating to their effort today – any amount helps.

You can also become a CLARA member, and by doing so you’ll be kept up to date on what is happening and informed on what you can do to be impactful in stopping it from passing.

Short-term rental owners show up in force to oppose Colorado lawmakers’ plan to tax their homes at a much higher rate – Colorado Sun article about the October 31st committee meeting

Colorado Homeowners’ Mass Exodus Sparks Fears of Housing Market Collapse – Newsweek Article

View draft bill – BILL TOPIC: Lodging Property Tax Treatment

Our state representative, Julie McCluskie, has put out a survey asking for feedback on this issue. I strongly encourage everyone to fill out this survey stating that no amount of STR bookings should qualify for “commercial tax treatment.”