The Denver Post is spotlighting a new idea under the gold dome: a vacant homes tax in Colorado, pitched as a way to fund affordable housing. Their framing is straightforward: “Vacant homes could be taxed in Colorado to pay for affordable housing under lawmakers’ proposal.” (The Denver Post). Because nothing says “problem-solving” like inventing a new tax category and calling it compassion.
Here’s the problem: we weren’t given the basic details—no bill number, no sponsors, no definition of “vacant,” no rate, no enforcement plan, no revenue estimate, no accountability metrics. That’s convenient. That’s also the whole game.
Vacant Homes Tax: The Definition Creep Machine
Colorado lawmakers can’t “engineer affordability,” so they’ll weaponize definitions instead. Today it’s “vacant homes,” tomorrow it’s “underused property,” and next year it’s whatever they can relabel without getting tarred and feathered at the ballot box.
Once a tax exists, bureaucrats will widen it, reinterpret it, and monetize it. That’s the scam.
Affordable Housing: The Permanent Excuse
“Affordable housing” is the magic phrase that lets Denver Democrats launder bad policy and sell punishment as virtue. They don’t have to fix permitting, cut red tape, or unrig the regulatory mess if they can just tax a villain and hold a press conference.
New taxes don’t require competence—just a slogan and a target. They will gaslight you with “fairness.”
Follow the Money, Meet the Bureaucracy
Even in the best-case version, this doesn’t fund homes—it funds a machine. Watch them build a cottage industry: consultants, commissions, grant managers, “equity” dashboards, and agencies that can backpedal forever when results don’t show up.
They’ll bury accountability under process. Every damn time.
Who Pays? We Do.
We live here, we work here, and we’re the ones eating the consequences when government distorts housing markets with political gimmicks. If you think this tax stops at a few trophy homes, you haven’t watched Colorado government expand anything in your lifetime.
They’ll hit regular owners first. Count on it.
Before lawmakers get a new revenue stream, show us receipts: audits, clawbacks, penalties, and clear outcomes for the last round of housing promises. If they can’t measure results, they’re just fundraising with a tax bill.
Comment and share: who do you think gets tagged first by this “vacant” definition?
Source: The Denver Post
Just Stop It
