This article is part of our look at potential refunds from the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. Learn more about how TABOR works here.
Title: SB15-130 Assist Conservation Easement Tax Credit Buyers
Sponsors: Sen. John Kefalas (D-Fort Collins)
Status: Introduced and assigned to the Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 28. The Finance Committee killed the bill on Feb. 10.
What the bill would have done: Create a tax credit to help people or organizations that bought conservation easement tax credits before 2014, if the Department of Revenue later revoked their credit.
The backstory: Conservation easements are legally binding agreements to limit future development of a property. Property owners who enter these agreements can claim lucrative tax credits as a reward. Many then sell those credits to a third party.
Over the years, DOR has disputed the assessed value of some conservation easements, leaving anyone who purchased the property's credit unable to claim it. This new tax credit would allow those third-party owners to recoup their losses.
How it would have affected your refund: This bill would have reduced the average taxpayer refund by $2.73 in fiscal year 2015-16.
You want to know what is really going on these days, especially in Colorado. We can help you keep up. The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. Sign up here and we will see you in the morning!
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. Listen now.
Join us for these upcoming events!
It takes a good day’s drive to cover Colorado, but we’ll help you do it in a few minutes. Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you.