Proposed Active Duty Widow(er) Property Tax Exemption

Vietnam Wall - 600 Colorado Names

• We ask that the value of the Colorado's partial property tax exemption for surviving spouses of totally disabled veterans be extended via separate legislation to a widows(er)  of a soldier, sailor, airman or marine who dies on active service in the line of duty. The average benefit is $646.

• The proposal is that a benefit parallel the present disabled veteran survivor's property tax exemption. Today, widows of disabled VETERANS are covered while widows of Colorado's ACTIVE DUTY service members are not.  Reason: The Colorado Constitution Article X Section 3.5 provides the exemption to a widow if only the veteran was already receiving it. 

The death of our husbands in the line of duty during combat or combat support quite obviously prevented any opportunity to complete Colorado's application. If our husbands had survived their wounds and come home, the tax benefit is allowed, but because they died while serving the benefit is denied. 

Do you see the problem? Their deaths fulfilled the objectives Colorado voters established when the disabled veteran property tax exemption was approved but the wording of the programs' details illogically disqualifies survivors of active duty deaths.

Colorado is unique among the states in providing this kind of benefit to surviving disabled veterans and survivors while also blocking the benefit for active duty deaths. That unfair and illogical distinction must go!

Our state constitution clearly specifies that the property tax exemption is extended to survivors if the disabled veteran receives it at the time of death. Somehow, no thought was given about active duty deaths when this issue was put to the voters and overwhelmingly approved back in 2006. 

So, how to permit wartime widows..."Gold Star Wives" to be treated as fairly as disabled veterans' survivors? Changing the constitution is an obvious choice but amendments are difficult. Further, all property tax issues must be also put to the voters and that makes the effort even more difficult. We've meet with state leaders and thus far the most straightforward approach they've recommended is separate legislation to give this small group of military widows an annual benefit to parallel the value of the disabled veteran property tax exemption. Presently, the maximum value of that is about $650.

PROPOSED SOLUTION:

The surviving spouse of a disabled veteran already in receipt of the disabled veteran property tax exemption is eligible for a partial property tax exemption of 50% of the first $200,000 of assessed value. Survivors of active duty servicemembers shall receive an annual benefit of the same value if:

• Either the deceased servicemember or surviving spouse is a resident of Colorado on July 1 of the year in which the exemption is sought, and
• The spouse continues to reside on the property as his or her permanent residence, and holds legal or beneficial title, and
• The spouse does not remarry,  and
• The spouse applies for the exemption, producing certification from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Departments of Homeland Security, Army, Navy or Air Force that attests to the service-connected death while on active duty. and
• The deceased active duty servicemember or survivor not need to have owned the homestead property at the time of his or her death. This is to facilitate survivors moving to Colorado from their active duty postings following the service member's death or to purchase a home if not already owned.

Reference: Colorado Constitution Article X, Section 3.5