Shift and shaft?

Bill Ritter, governor of Colorado, wants to increase property taxes by $1.7 billion over the next ten years. Jon Caldera, however, finds a lot wrong with the idea.

Caldera, president of the Independence Institute, says in an e-mail broadcast that the tax increase must, under state law, be put before the voters for approval. The attorney general agrees (PDF). (You can also hear him talk about his reasons in a podcast from iVoices, a service of the Institute.)

Ben DeGrow says the plan, which involves changing long-standing practices involving property tax valuations, is a property tax increase by any name. (PDF)